


Just add the gays

by Everybody_Loves_Chocolate



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Aromantic, Arranged Marriage, Asexual Character, Beta Wanted, Bonding, But platonic touching, Crushes, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dancing, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Forced Marriage, Friendship, Getting to Know Each Other, How did I forget, Hugs, I literally forgot to tag it even though it's a main point, I'm begging you, Insomnia, Its hinted at - Freeform, Kinda, Lesbian Character, Light Angst, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Mentioned Dong Si Cheng | WinWin, Nicknames, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, POV Alternating, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Prince Lee Taeyong, Prince Mark, Prince Mark Lee (NCT), Royalty, Secrets, Siblings, Sleep Deprivation, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Swearing, Talking, Touching, Trust, Tumblr Prompt, actually; everyone best boy, also only kinda, building relationships, but dont feel bad if you dont want to, good parenting, i just want to know if my writing really sucks or if i just hate myself, i know this is a markhyuck fic but please give my girls love, i think im too attached to the characters i created, its happened too often now for me to not tag it, its more a onesided dislike, jaemin best boy, jaeyong cutest couple and they're not even the protagonists, jihyun and every woman except for choonhee best girl, just talk it out bOYS, kun owns a flower shop, not on the mouth but kisses are kisses, platonic kisses isn't a tag but that's what happens, reality sucks sometimes, respecting boundaries, since im not sure which will actually develop, teeny tiny arguments, theres a bad parenting tag but not a good parenting tag so im protesting, this fic is centered around it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:48:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 67,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23578666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everybody_Loves_Chocolate/pseuds/Everybody_Loves_Chocolate
Summary: Donghyuck had disliked Mark the second he had heard his name. He was to marry the princess of the Moon Kingdom after she came out to her parents as a lesbian and they asked for a marriage in an attempt to 'fix' her. Donghyuck knew it wasn't Mark's fault but that didn't stop his dislike for him. So when he has to serve as his manservant because his own fell ill he didn't expect his mind to change. And, well, that was a mistake.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Liu Yang Yang/Wong Kun Hang | Hendery/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Moon Taeil/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character & Original Female Character, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 50
Kudos: 99





	1. Wedding bells of Unacceptance

**Author's Note:**

> Heya. So this was inspired by a writing prompt on Tumblr. It was something along the lines of: 'A princess comes out as lesbian to her parents and in an attempt to try to 'fix' her her parents ask for a marriage partner from the neighboring kingdom. That kingdom however is not against same-sex attraction/marriage/whatever and so they sent their own princess.'  
> And I thought that was pretty neat but as I was looking for prompts I could write for Markhyuck as a kind of training I wanted to change it up a bit. 
> 
> English is not my first language and this is my first fic that I'm actually going to publish so if you find any mistakes it would be nice if you told me. Feedback is always appreciated, so if you could read this even if it is cringy please do. I can't improve if you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong.
> 
> I personally think my dialog bits need the most improving but I don't know how to do that so if you have any tips I would appreciate it :)

It had been a pretty regular day for Donghyuck. Waking up at an ungodly hour to help out in the kitchen and serving breakfast to the nobles and the royal family before cleaning the tables. He visited Jeno and the pets, helping out his friend while chatting away and then went to clean the guest rooms after the guests who had been occupying them had left. Donghyuck hadn’t thought much about the princesses’ jumpy behaviour during breakfast.

Jihyun and he weren’t friends per se but she was nice enough, even let Donghyuck slack off sometimes. He appreciated her and her efforts to make everyone feel comfortable. So when she came and asked him to accompany her to a meeting with her parents he didn’t decline, though he was confused. There wasn’t any particular reason for Jihyun to choose him, especially because he was a servant and she had Ten, her personal guard, as company anyways.

Donghyuck didn’t question her choice though and followed her into the Great Hall silently, just throwing glances at Ten from time to time. When they entered Donghyuck saw Jihyun tense and it made him wonder just what was about to happen. 

Ten pulled out Jihyun’s chair and she sat down in front of her parents, suggesting that this was a meeting wished for by the princess herself since they would not normally sit in front of each other. At least that’s what Donghyuck assumed, he hadn’t been in a lot of meetings with just the royal family.

“So,” Jihyun began, “I have something very important to tell you.”

The king nodded at his daughter, an easy smile on his lips while the queen didn’t even move an inch. He spoke in a gentle voice, “Go on. Tell us what’s on your mind.”

Jihyun took a deep breath and shifted in her seat, looking to Donghyuck for support and he smiled at her, hoping to convey that it’s going to be alright. Even if he still wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to tell her parents he had a pretty good idea. 

It was widely known among the servants and nobles that were Jihyun’s age that she was gay. Kind of hard to miss when you walk in on her and her girlfriend exchanging innocent kisses in the middle of the night. Donghyuck was pretty sure Jihyun knew how a lot of servants knew about it and so she had picked the first one to cross her path when she was searching for the support of someone that wasn’t her personal guard.

Jihyun took another deep breath and looked straight at her parents. “I’m a lesbian,” she said, voice strong, seemingly unwavering but Donghyuck could hear the tremble. It was silent for a bit. He saw Ten furrow his eyebrows and straighten his already perfect posture.

The queen shook her head. Her arms were folded over her chest and her face contorted in a frown, very unladylike if Donghyuck might say. “No.”

The king didn’t seem like he had anything to say to that. If Donghyuck was being honest he actually looked kind of proud, of what he wasn’t sure but he hoped it wasn’t because of what his wife just said.

Jihyun turned to look at her mother, hands gripping the chair arms until her knuckles were white. They had a bit of a stare-down, Jihyun clenching her teeth and the queen turning up her nose at her.

“Excuse me?” Jihyun asked and Donghyuck wanted to wince. Her voice was still powerful but this time the tremble was definite.

“You heard me. No. No daughter of mine will be…” The queen sneered. “Gay.”

From his position Donghyuck could only see the side of Jihyun’s face but he was pretty sure that her eyes were welling up.

The queen waved for the servant by the door at the far end of the hall and he came hurrying. By now the king was warily eyeing his wife and Donghyuck wondered why he didn’t say anything. He was the one that could decide important stuff and he didn’t look like he was against Jihyun’s sexuality.

“Fetch me my writing material,” the queen instructed the servant and he hurried away, leaving the room in an uncomfortable silence before the king spoke up after having been silent for too long. 

“What are you planning to do Choonhee?”

The queen turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m getting our daughter married.”

Jihyun blinked rapidly, probably blinking her tears away. Donghyuck was frozen. That was not what he had expected at all. He had expected rejection, acceptance, a week grounded to think about what she said maybe but never that. Getting married? To whom? To achieve what? 

The king seemed to think the same, raising his eyebrows and asking, “And to whom if I may ask? We’ve turned down some proposals already. Who do expect to accept?”

The queen didn’t seem bothered by her husband’s questions and simply tapped the table repeatedly. 

“Whoever is willing,” she answered and the king glanced at Jihyun. By now she was basically frozen in her seat. Donghyuck couldn’t tell if it was because of shock, disbelief or general numbness and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.

It seemed like the king had an idea just as the servant re-entered the hall, his eyes kind of lighting up, his hand coming up to rest on his wife’s arm.

“What do you think about the Lee Queendom Choonhee? Their second in line is around Jihyun’s age and he’s a nice fellow.”

The Lee Queendom. As far as Donghyuck knew it was one of their strongest and longest allies. Apparently the queen had been the lone ruler for more than 15 years after her husband died of an illness.

“The second in line? As far as I’m concerned the crown prince isn’t engaged, why wouldn’t we ask for him?”

The queen’s writing material was set down before her and the king squeezed her arm, nodding to the servant before sending him off to stand by the door again.

The king cleared his throat and said, in a tone that didn’t leave space for questions, “Their crown prince, Prince Taeyong, is already promised to someone else as far as I am concerned. But their second in line, Prince Minhyung, has not made any moves to get married yet. I would prefer him over Prince Taeyong.”

Donghyuck saw Ten tilt his head ever so slightly and clasping his hands tighter. He wondered what was going through his head but got distracted by the queen huffing. 

“Fine. We’ll ask for a marriage between Prince Minhyung and Jihyun since they are most likely to accept.”

She got to writing what Donghyuck supposed was the letter of proposal and left the room in an uncomfortable silence again until Jihyun got up.

“I will excuse myself then,” she whispered, bowed to her parents and marched right towards the door. Ten followed her and Donghyuck followed Ten. 

Jihyun went straight to her room slipping in and leaving the door slightly ajar. Donghyuck wanted to check on her but he hesitated, looking towards Ten for reassurance. He nodded and gave Donghyuck a little smile before positioning himself next to the door.

Donghyuck slipped into the room to find Jihyun on her bed, curled up into a ball atop the covers. “Are you okay Jihyun?” he asked and slowly walked towards her. 

Normally he wouldn’t go around calling royalty by their first name but Jihyun had offered him to call her that in private and he wasn’t one to refuse an offer that would make his life easier. 

Jihyun shifted and looked at Donghyuck before sighing and shrugging at the same time.

“I guess,” she answered. “It’s not like I expected them to love me the same y’know?”

Donghyuck nodded.

“But to marry me off? I guess in an attempt to ‘make me normal’? I don’t know. And father…”

Jihyun took a deep breath, eyes watering. Donghyuck sat down next to Jihyun and silently offered her a tissue. She took it with a slight smile towards him and dabbed it at her eyes. 

“Sorry that you have to see me like this. I’m supposed to be stronger than this,” Jihyun sniffled.

Donghyuck shook his head and opened his mouth to assure her that it was fine when someone entered the room.

Both Donghyuck and Jihyun looked up to see who it was and Donghyuck heard a small cry from beside him. Just a bit away stood Jihyun’s girlfriend, Eunha, with a worried expression on her face. “Jihyun!”

She hurried to take Jihyun into her arms, just making her cry harder. Eunha rubbed her back and looked at Donghyuck apologetically. 

“Sorry, could you give us some alone time?” she asked, voice tender and almost a whisper.

Donghyuck nodded, stood up, bowed, got out of the room. Ten, standing next to the door, offered him a comforting look. What he was comforting him for Donghyuck didn’t know but he had a hunch.

And as he hurried away to resume his day only one thought repeated in his head.

Whoever that Minhyung was, he better not force Jihyun into anything and make her cry again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aware that the way I set this castle up does not make any sense, like, why the fuck can Donghyuck just do what he wants? Why don't I call rooms by their actual names? Why are the royalty-servant relationships so good? Why does seemingly no one but the queen oppose Jihyun's sexuality? (Maybe the last one is because I think of younger people as more accepting, no matter what year)
> 
> But for the sake of my sanity please don't question it. I already had enough trouble researching where the royal children sat during meals (not that I found what I was looking for) and I don't need all that logic. Maybe I'll edit it later but for now I just want to make up really unrealistic plotlines okay?


	2. Off to meet his Destiny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I updated again already.  
> Since it's the holidays where I live I'm trying to write a bit every day to make up for the days I'm not going to write anything when school starts again.
> 
> I think this chapter is a bit less interesting but nevertheless...
> 
> I hope you enjoy! :)

When Mark’s mother had asked to see him he’d assumed Johnny had told her about him staying up late again. He expected to be scolded a bit, apologize and then continue doing what he wasn’t supposed to. It’s not like he could help it anyways.

What he didn’t expect was a marriage proposal from Jihyun. Or rather, her parents.

If he was being honest he’d never expected her parents to accept her. It’s not that they were bad people; it was just that the queen was basically obsessed with having grandchildren. And she was not a fan of adoption either because almost every kid up for adoption was a peasant. Queen Choonhee was a fan of old tradition, which is why Mark didn’t get why they got the proposal in the first place. Basically everyone knew they were very accepting.

“I’m sure Taeil is responsible for this. You know how he can’t oppose Choonhee but at least he knows Jihyun is in good hands with you,” his mother said and Mark sighed, reading over the letter again before handing it over to Taeyong.

“I get it. I’ll accept just because I don’t want Jihyun to be married off to some douchebag but I’d rather have her be happy with her girlfriend.”

Taeyong looked up from where he had just put down the letter and asked, “Jihyun has a girlfriend? Since when?”

Mark sighed again and rubbed his hands over his eyes. He’d rather sit in the library right now and read to his hearts content instead of thinking about his gay best friend he hadn’t seen in over eight years. He didn’t want to marry her; he wanted her to marry her girlfriend.

“It’s been a while Taeyong,” he answered, searching his memory for the first letter about Jihyun’s girlfriend. “I don’t know, maybe three or four years?”

His brother raised his eyebrows, eyes widening. “Three or four years? How did they not get caught yet?”

Their mother chuckled and Mark and Taeyong both turned to look at her. She reached out to pet Taeyong’s arm. “Not everyone is as obvious as you and Jaehyun, dear.”

Mark could hear Johnny snort behind him and hid a grin behind his hand as Taeyong blushed. It really hadn’t been that hard to figure out that the two liked each other, especially since they had basically looked at each other all the time. Not that they didn’t do it anymore, in fact, it was probably even more obvious now since they were officially together.

“But seriously Mark, if they’ve been together for so long I really doubt nobody knew,” Taeyong said, leaning back in his chair. Mark shook his head and sighed.

In one of her letters Jihyun had told him that she was going to be less discreet and let some of the people she trusted know that she had a girlfriend. She had also let her write a bit to Mark. Eunha seemed like a sweet girl and Mark had hoped things would work out in their favour.

Didn’t seem like they did.

“It’s not like nobody knew. It’s just that the people who did have Jihyun’s trust. I think she said she wanted to have some support before she came out to her parents.”

Taeyong winced at the same time their mother sighed. It seemed like she wanted to say something but she was interrupted by a knock on the door and Jaehyun sticking his head into the room.

He stepped into the room fully and bowed slightly before saying, “Sorry to interrupt but I was just handed this letter addressed to Mark. It’s from princess Jihyun.”

Jaehyun put the letter down next to Mark and turned to leave when Taeyong spoke up again. “You can stay Jae. You’re basically family anyways.”

His boyfriend hesitated and looked at his future mother-in-law. She smiled and gestured for Jaehyun to sit next to Taeyong. Jaehyun smiled.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said as he sat down and Taeyong immediately took his hand.

The queen shook her head and sighed. “How often do I have to tell you to just call me Hyunjae? Your family has been doing it for years anyways.”

Jaehyun blushed a bit but nodded anyways, playing with Taeyong’s fingers.

Mark liked him a lot. He was basically a second brother to him. They had kind of grown up together, even though Jaehyun was a bit older than him. Since he was a noble he was always somewhere in the castle. He'd play with Mark sometimes and they had gotten really close. Jaehyun was also more laid back than Taeyong. Where Taeyong was strict and wouldn’t let him get out of meals until he ate at least a handful Jaehyun covered for him when he didn’t want to go to meals at all. Which was appreciated by neither Taeyong nor Johnny.

“Well Mark,” his mother started and everyone turned to look at her. “To get back to the original topic, if you're really going to accept the proposal I’m going to write Taeil and Choonhee and sent a rider.”

Mark nodded. “Yeah, I accept.” He sighed. “I just wish I wouldn’t have to.”

His mother smiled at him apologetically and took his hand in hers.

“I know.”

¤¤¤

Jihyun’s letter included her side of the story. She told him how she had had a bit of hope. How her mother had just immediately rejected her and how sad she was that her father didn’t do anything to stop her. How both Eunha and a servant boy named Donghyuck had comforted her. At the end she tried to joke about how at least now they would be seeing each other more often but Mark could see how wavy the paper was.

He’d immediately written her a letter back about how he hoped everything would turn out fine and that they were going to depart early in the morning the next day to arrive as soon as possible to work out the technicalities.

The letter was sent with the same rider who carried the proposal acceptance. It’s just that one was for the king and queen and the other for the princess.

Mark had actually gone to bed early and his manservant had looked so confused it made him think about just how late he got into bed normally. He didn’t sleep though, thoughts about Jihyun and the wedding keeping him up.

When it was time to leave he was basically dead on his feet. Normally he’d sleep at least a bit but he just couldn’t this time.

They had to use two carriages as there were six people who were travelling to the Moon Kingdom.

Mark himself, his personal guard Johnny, his manservant Chenle, his personal cook Renjun as well as Mark's mother and her maidservant.

Taeyong had wanted to come with but they couldn’t just leave the Queendom unattended and so he and Jaehyun were left behind. They would follow after Hyunjae came back but until then they had to stay put.

Mark had to promise his brother to not do anything stupid and send him a letter every few days. He had reluctantly agreed since he didn’t think anything interesting would happen.

When they left for good and Mark got to enjoy the nature and towns they were passing he thought about Jihyun again. It was nice to know that she was supported by the servants. And that she didn’t seem too destroyed.

He had just hoped to meet her again under different circumstances.

And as his eyes slowly closed, his mother and Johnny whispering in the background, his mind drifted to the nice sounding servant boy.

_Donghyuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you might have questions about how Jihyun and Mark are the bestest of friends without King and Queen Moon knowing but it's going to be explained in a later chapter so fear not.  
> And I'm pretty sure adoption wasn't a thing when Kingdoms and Queendoms were still actually ruled by kings and queens but at this point I'm just going to assume that this is a parallel universe.
> 
> I kind of have a habit of not immediately being clear about anything so if you have any questions they are probably going to be answered at a later date :)


	3. Slow and Steady wins the Race

After the ‘unwanted wedding incident’, as Donghyuck decided to call it, his life continued like nothing had happened.

He didn’t expect anything to change soon anyways, especially since he normally didn’t have much to do with Jihyun or her parents. He still got up early, still helped in the kitchen, chatted with Jeno, Jaemin and Jisung, still did lots of stuff he usually did.

He wasn’t sure if Jihyun was actually going to get married to that Prince Minhyung they’d been talking about. Neither the king nor the queen had announced any wedding plans and so Donghyuck was almost sure the proposal had been rejected.

But he still couldn’t get it out of his head that Jihyun was going to get married basically against her will, no matter to whom. Donghyuck tried to get his mind off of it by annoying Jisung. He sat on the windowsill and watched Jisung work.

“Jisung. Hey, hey Jisung. Hey! Hey!”

The younger boy groaned and turned to look at him. “What do you want? I have really important stuff to do here.”

Donghyuck grinned and put on his best puppy look before replying, “Is preparing medicine you have plenty off really more important than your favourite friend?”

Jisung cringed and flung a feather at him. Donghyuck caught it and put it behind his ear.

“In what world are you my favourite friend? Jeno exists you know,” he grumbled and turned to work on the herbs again.

Donghyuck pouted and swung his legs back and forth. He knew Jeno was basically everyone’s favourite friend in his friend group. Jeno was _his_ favourite friend so he couldn’t really judge Jisung for what he said.

It was silent for a bit as they both did their own thing, Jisung working and Donghyuck trying to find another way to annoy him. However, silence didn’t ever last long in Donghyuck’s life and so it wasn’t long before Jaemin burst into Jisung’s working chamber.

“How’s my favourite baby doing? I haven’t seen you in forever!” he exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around a startled Jisung.

Donghyuck laughed and watched Jisung struggle with his over-affectionate attacker.

“You saw me just this morning Jaem. Please get off of me.”

Jisung struggled to get Jaemin off, elbowing his ribs repeatedly. Donghyuck shook his head at the antics of his friends. He jumped off of the windowsill and into the room just as Jaemin reluctantly released the younger.

Jaemin turned to look at him and a smile immediately spread on his face.

“Hyuckie!” he squealed, throwing his arms around him instead. Donghyuck hugged him back and buried his face in Jaemin’s neck.

Jaemin and he had been friends for as long as they could remember. Sometimes people would tell them they were too close to be ‘just friends’ but they both couldn’t care less about what people thought of them. Jaemin liked skin-ship; Donghyuck liked skin-ship, why wouldn’t they touch whenever they could?

And even though Donghyuck hasn’t been Jaemin’s favourite person in the world for quite some time he didn’t mind as long as they would always be there for each other.

“Is everything okay Hyuck? You seem a bit out of it,” Jaemin said, stroking Donghyuck’s hair and leaning his head against his.

Donghyuck nodded and pulled away to smile at Jaemin. Just as he opened his mouth to reassure Jaemin verbally as he still looked at Donghyuck with doubtful eyes something slammed into the window, making all of them flinch.

Jaemin, who stood nearest to the window, opened it and looked down when there was nothing to see in front of it or next to it.

“Oh, Jeno. Are you okay?”

Donghyuck and Jisung stepped next to him and looked down to see Jeno sitting on the ground, holding his head with one hand and a kitty with the other.

Jeno blushed and nodded before getting up. Jaemin stretched out his hand to gently caress Jeno’s head where he’d been holding it, worry evident in his eyes.

Donghyuck rolled his eyes and sighed, “Get in here Jeno or are you boys going to act out a drama?”

Jeno blushed harder and handed the kitty to a giggling Jisung before climbing in through the window. He was greeted by Jaemin wrapping an arm around his hips and a hand lying on top of his head.

“Are you really okay Jeno? What happened?” he asked, pouting and furrowing his brows as he examined Jeno’s head.

Jeno just shrugged and let Jaemin manhandle him to sit down.

“Lily escaped and I couldn’t just let her roam around freely, you know? So I was trying to catch her and she was in front of the window, well, under it. And I sneaked up to her ‘cause she’s really fast and jumpy. And so, when I jumped forward to catch her I bumped my head.”

Donghyuck and Jisung snorted as Jaemin sighed. “You have to be more careful. What are we supposed to do without you?”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes for the second time that day and watched as Jaemin fussed over Jeno and Jeno blushed at every direct or indirect compliment.

When Jaemin was sure Jeno wasn’t going to have more than a bump after having been looked over by Jisung he sat down next to him and snuggled up to his side. Jeno protested, saying that he had to get back to the pets as he had to go on a walk with the dogs.

And so Jisung was left behind in his workplace, Jeno, Jaemin and Donghyuck on their way to the pets.

Donghyuck held Lily in his arms and scratched her behind the ears, enjoying her purrs when Jeno spoke up again.

“By the way, I heard Jihyun tell Eunha that ‘they’ are going to arrive today in the evening. Does anyone know what’s up with that?” he asked and turned to look at Jaemin and him.

Donghyuck shook his head. He didn’t necessarily want to disclose how Jihyun came out to her parents and was forced into a marriage as the result.

Jaemin however shrugged his shoulders. “Not really but we’ve been preparing a lot more food. Doyoung barely even let me get out of the kitchen. I actually have to be back there in a bit. Most of the stuff we’ve prepared until now was desserts so I guess we’ll get to cooking soon.”

Jeno hummed and opened the door to his little pet inn, immediately being greeted by a lot of barks and meows.

His job originally was to look after the pets of nobles and royalty when they were away or didn’t have enough time but most of them just dumped their pets on Jeno and came back to play with them. Jeno always said he didn’t mind because he loved animals so much but Donghyuck knew how stressed he actually was.

“Well boys, I have to get going but have fun with the pets,” Jaemin chirped, kissed Jeno’s cheek, ruffled Donghyuck’s hair and skipped away.

Donghyuck watched as Jeno blushed again and walked past him to pet the dogs.

Jeno and Jaemin had been crushing on each other too long for Donghyuck to enjoy their reactions anymore. When Jeno finally stopped looking like a tomato they put every dog on a leash and went on a walk out of the castle and through the nearby woods. They let the dogs run free as Jeno gushed over Jaemin’s whole being.

After the dogs tired themselves out by running and playing and doing everything they wanted to do Donghyuck and Jeno headed back, only to be greeted by Eunha in front of the gates.

“Ah there you are!” she called, basically speed walking into their direction. Donghyuck glanced at Jeno, trying to silently pass the question ‘Do you know why she searched for us?’ to him. Jeno shrugged.

“I’m sorry this is so sudden but could you be there when Queen Hyunjae and Prince Minhyung arrive? I get you probably don’t want to have anything to do with them but I promise you they’re nice people. We just need someone to show Prince Minhyung around, you know? Show him the basic layout of the castle.

“And Prince Minhyung’s manservant fell ill so he needs another one and I was thinking you could do it. Since I think you’re very nice and I want him to feel comfortable. If you don’t want to it’s totally fine. I can ask someone else,” she rambled, ending her little speech totally out of breath.

Donghyuck chuckled and shook his head before responding, “It’s alright Eunha. I can help, really. Someone has to do it right? And I guess it’s a nice change from what I normally do.”

Donghyuck’s intentions weren’t as pure as he made them out to be. To be honest, he kind of only agreed because he wanted to see how that Prince Minhyung guy actually was. If he’d treat Jihyun right and respect her boundaries. And if Donghyuck concluded he wouldn’t he’d find a way to either better the prince or make the marriage not happen.

However, Eunha didn’t know that so she smiled brightly and thanked Donghyuck, like, a thousand times before taking a place beside him. Though maybe she would’ve thanked him regardless.

“Let’s go then.”

They walked in silence for a bit and watched the bustle of the castle before Jeno leaned forward to look at Eunha.

“Is the princess okay though? Normally she’d show people the castle,” he asked, brows furrowed.

Eunha nodded and snapped her fingers, something Donghyuck had picked up as a nervous habit of hers.

“Yeah she’s okay. She’s just had a headache ever since lunch and isn’t really in the mood to do anything she doesn’t have to.”

Donghyuck understood. He’d have a headache too if he had to marry someone against his will and actually be friendly with them.

“Well, I hope she gets better soon.”

¤¤¤

It wasn’t long before Eunha brought Donghyuck down to the front doors where the royal family already stood. Jihyun actually looked a bit pale and Donghyuck felt bad for her. It’s times like these where he appreciated not having a high status. Meeting and greeting people when you feel like shit seemed like a hassle.

Donghyuck spotted Jisung among some guards, presumably because of the ill manservant. He waved and Jisung waved back before they both turned to look at the gates as they heard carriages approaching.

The carriages were pretty, less glamorous than most Donghyuck had seen so far. Less gold and more simple black.

The doors of the carriages were opened simultaneously, though the people exiting the second one basically scrambled out of there and Jisung went straight to them so Donghyuck assumed it was the one with the ill boy.

So he shifted his attention towards the first carriage. The first person to exit was tall as far as Donghyuck could tell. His hair was slicked back slightly with a few strands falling into his face. He looked a bit intimidating and he wasn’t wearing a coronet so he couldn’t be the prince.

Not that princes couldn’t look intimidating, Donghyuck had met a few who did but the missing coronet was a big clue.

The next person was obviously the queen if her being a female and wearing a very impressive crown was anything to go by. She looked pretty, Donghyuck had to admit. He didn’t know how old she was but she looked pretty young. No grey hair among her black locks and no wrinkle in sight.

The man who had stepped out first held her hand as she stepped out and nodded towards him. She proceeded to walk towards the king, the queen and Jihyun and Donghyuck forced himself to look back to the carriage. He wanted to see the prince already.

Prince Minhyung looked good. He was handsome but he also had a bit of a cute charm to his face. Just based off of looks alone Donghyuck didn’t think he would treat anybody unfairly or would push their boundaries. But it was people like that you should mistrust the most.

The prince followed his mother to greet Jihyun and her parents. They greeted each other and Eunha took Donghyuck’s arm to guide him towards their little gathering.

She curtsied briefly towards all of them before turning to Prince Minhyung and pointing to Donghyuck.

“We have taken the liberty to provide you with a different manservant until yours has recovered from his illness. His name is Donghyuck. He’s very skilled in almost everything and he is very efficient,” she said, making Donghyuck feel like he was being sold to the prince.

Prince Minhyung smiled and reached out his hand towards Donghyuck.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Donghyuck took it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit more slow paced because I wanted to show you how some casual days look in Hyuck's life. It may seem like he doesn't work at all but I promise he does. 
> 
> So they finally met! I hope the way I plan to develop their relationship doesn't disappoint :)


	4. The most precious gold to be found on Earth

Donghyuck is a sunshine boy.

That’s the first thing that passed Mark’s mind when he was introduced to Donghyuck.

He’d honestly never seen someone as beautiful as him. Tan skin, moles, fluffy hair. Mark was overwhelmed to say the least.

“Well, we’ll leave you kids alone for a bit. Have fun,” Taeil said and smiled at him and Jihyun before leaving with Choonhee and Hyunjae to have their meeting.

Mark wasn’t entirely sure what it was supposed to be about as his mother hadn’t disclosed a lot but he guessed it had to do with the marriage. He turned to look at Jihyun. She looked a bit sick and he didn’t want her to feel even worse because she was too nice.

“If you don’t feel too good you don’t have to keep me company, Jihyun. I’m going to have Donghyuck after all.”

He vaguely gestured towards Donghyuck and watched as a weak smile spread across Jihyun’s face.

She glanced at Donghyuck and Eunha before replying, “Alright. Thank you so much Minhyung. I promise to be well by tomorrow.”

Mark waved her off and watched as she and Eunha went back into the castle. Then he turned to look at Donghyuck. The boy had been silently standing next to him ever since he was first introduced and Mark realised he hadn’t heard his voice yet. Maybe he was just shy around strangers.

To not come off as impolite he smiled at him and pointed to Johnny who stood just a bit behind him.

“Since we’re going to be hanging out quite a bit I believe it would be good if you two knew each other. This is Johnny. He’s my personal guard. He may seem intimidating at first but I promise you he’s all bark no bite.” He grinned and watched as Donghyuck and Johnny shook hands. Their size difference was a bit astounding, even though it looked like Mark wasn’t much taller than Donghyuck he didn’t feel as if their difference was that big.

“Well,” Donghyuck spoke up for the first time, “Lady Song said I should show you around a bit so if you don’t mind following me…”

He looked Mark in the eyes as if he was challenging him to say he did mind. He didn’t though so Mark just smiled and gestured towards the castle.

“Lead the way.”

¤¤¤

The tour through the castle wasn’t very eventful. Donghyuck showed him where the kitchens, the medic chambers, the gardens, and the Great Hall were. And to Mark’s request he also showed him the library.

They didn’t really talk a lot. It was more Donghyuck monologuing about what he was showing them. However, there was a moment where he had asked a question out of the blue.

“By the way, can I ask you a question? I don’t wanna sound rude.”

Mark had nodded and Donghyuck had continued, “How come your manservant is sick but none of the others are?”

Donghyuck hadn’t looked at him when he had asked the question, simply continuing down the halls and Mark had chuckled.

“He fell into a river. Chenle is a rowdy boy. I think he said something about wanting to catch a frog.”

Donghyuck had turned to look at him then, eyebrows raised. Mark had smiled back and he had turned back around again.

Mark didn’t particularly mind the silence but he quite liked the sound of Donghyuck’s voice. It was comforting in a way.

When they arrived at the room Mark was going to stay in Donghyuck followed him into it and immediately pulled out a chair from the old wooden table.

The room was nice. It was very spacious with an open area where there was only the table in the middle and a fireplace on the far right. It seemed like the bed itself was around the corner.

“You don’t have to pull out the chair Donghyuck, I was going to get settled in and then go to the library,” Mark informed the other and watched as his face fell. Did he say something wrong?

Donghyuck was silent for a bit before putting the chair back and asking, “You’re going to get settled in?”

Mark nodded and gave him a small smile.

“Prince Minhyung-“

“Please, call me Mark. Minhyung is so formal.”

Donghyuck squinted at him and he felt like he had said something wrong again.

“Prince Mark,” he began, “I wasn’t really trained to do this but I am pretty sure your manservant is supposed to get you settled in. Not you yourself.”

Mark shrugged. He had actually wanted him to drop the title too but he was afraid if he said anything about it now Donghyuck was going to quit so he didn’t point it out.

“Yeah but where’s the fun in that? I mean, if you really want to do it we can do it together but I wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing you’re doing all the work,” Mark assured Donghyuck and took the two bags on the floor.

He wondered who had brought them here but he guessed it was one of the castle’s servants. Mark hadn’t brought much. Clothes to last him for a month and book he hadn’t finished reading was all he had packed since he could buy things here if he really needed them.

Donghyuck helped him put the clothes in the wardrobe while grumbling under his breath which Mark thought he probably wasn’t supposed to hear.

After everything was sorted and Mark was satisfied he turned to look at Donghyuck again.

“If you want to you can join me at the library. If not you can just do whatever you want to do and we’ll see each other at dinner.”

Donghyuck squinted at him again and slowly but surely Mark felt like he had forgotten how to read the atmosphere if that was how the other was going to respond to most of what he said.

“No it’s alright. I can go with you to the library. Haven’t been there in quite a while.”

Mark nodded, smiled and stepped past Donghyuck to get out of the room and further towards the library.

¤¤¤

Hanging out with Donghyuck was way quieter than hanging out with Chenle.

Mark had expected that but it wasn’t like Donghyuck was entirely silent. It seemed like he started to hum when he didn’t say anything. He’d done it when they were organizing Mark’s clothes and he was doing it as they sat in the library and read.

Johnny sat a few feet away, arms crossed and eyes finding their way to the clock way too often for Mark to comfortably read his book.

And as predicted he spoke up what felt like a few minutes later.

“I don’t want to interrupt your little reading session but dinner starts in an hour and you still have to get ready. So it would be nice if you could get up and start moving.”

Donghyuck looked up from his book just as Mark sighed and closed his.

“You can continue reading Donghyuck. I’ll get ready by myself,” said Mark, getting up to leave the library. He couldn’t exactly miss their welcome dinner.

Donghyuck however got up as well and furrowed his brows.

“Isn’t your manservant supposed to dress you?”

Mark opened his mouth to answer but Johnny put a hand on his shoulder and answered in his stead, “Technically yes but Mark here is very… independent.”

You could see it like that.

“And his body isn’t as good as mine so of course he wouldn’t want anybody to see it.”

 _That_ earned him a slap to the arm. Though Donghyuck giggled and Mark felt blessed so maybe he’d thank Johnny later.

Mark straightened his posture and fiddled with his fingers. He really didn’t want Donghyuck to feel like he had to do all those simple things if Mark could do them by himself.

“It’s really alright Donghyuck. I don’t mind dressing myself and you seem very engrossed in that book so we’ll just come fetch you when I’m ready okay?” he asked, tilting his head and waiting for Donghyuck’s answer.

He seemed a bit hesitant. Like he wasn’t sure if he should listen to Mark or protocol but in the end it seemed like Mark had won as Donghyuck sat back down and smiled at Mark for the first time.

“Alright. But you better not forget me here.”

Mark nodded and he and Johnny left to go back to his room. He decided he liked Donghyuck. The boy was a bit distant, sure. But who wouldn’t be distant with a complete stranger? Donghyuck was nice nonetheless and he seemed fun to be around. Mark hoped they’d become friends soon so that he could learn even more about him.

Mark got dressed in his formal robes. They were a dark blue with white garments and he liked how they felt on his skin. Normally he wouldn’t style his hair but since it was their welcome dinner he had to. For this he let Johnny help him because he could never tell if his hair looked good or not.

When Mark was all dressed up and pretty they went to fetch Donghyuck and continued on to the Great Hall.

The table was already filled with lots of amazing looking food and Mark hoped the kitchen staff got compliments for their work.

He sat down next to his mother who smiled at him softly.

Taeil, Choonhee and Jihyun sat at the head of the table and Hyunjae and Mark sat on the side to their left.

Other than Mark and Jihyun exchanging a few smiles and their parents chatting not much happened during dinner. To Mark’s surprise Jihyun’s and his engagement was not announced but when he had asked his mother about it she just grinned at him and told him she got Taeil and Choonhee to agree to let Jihyun and Mark ‘get to know each other’ before anything was said.

Mark didn’t fully understand his mother’s motives but he definitely wouldn’t complain.

He wanted to talk to Jihyun a bit after dinner but she looked even worse than before and he didn’t want her to fall seriously ill so he told her to take a rest and get better instead.

Donghyuck followed him everywhere. He and Johnny actually seemed to get along very well. They talked and joked as they all went back to Mark’s room.

Mark thought it would be weird for him to stay in the castle's library during the first night there so he said he wanted to get ready for bed and bid Donghyuck a good night after a disappointed sigh on the other's part. He watched him walk away and stuck his tongue out at Johnny when he said he wouldn’t go to bed soon anyways.

Johnny was only partially right. He did lie on his bed but he didn’t go to sleep. He kept thinking about Donghyuck, his looks, his voice, how there was still so much to learn about him. Jihyun’s sick face also popped into his mind and he decided to ask her how she was feeling first thing at breakfast tomorrow.

When his eyes closed the sun was already rising but that just helped enhance his dreams of a certain boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so their first day comes to an end.  
> I feel like Jihyun has a mind of her own. She just says 'Fuck you I can do what I want' and now I have to deal with her being sick. That was literally not planned at all but it just flowed out of my fingers and I didn't want to delete it so she's now sick.
> 
> I felt like this chapter is a bit rushed but seeing as this is basically just a few hours I guess it's okay?  
> If there's anything you feel could be more detailed just let me know :)


	5. New Sides to Everyone

It took Donghyuck two days working under Prince Mark to notice he was doing less than before.

And by that he didn’t mean he got lazier or just was supposed to do less. It was just that Prince Mark did almost everything himself. He got up earlier than Donghyuck came into his room to wake him up, he dressed himself, if he needed anything he would go to get it himself and not ask Donghyuck to get it for him.

Donghyuck was pretty sure it didn’t work like that. Normally the manservant would wake the prince up, dress him, fetch him everything his heart desired yet Donghyuck did none of those things.

He didn’t particularly mind but he didn’t feel too great about it either. Basically not doing anything except following Prince Mark around all the time wasn’t really what he’d imagined doing as a manservant.

The boy himself seemed nice enough. He spent a lot of time just reading in the library, staying up longer than anyone else Donghyuck knew. Donghyuck had been told by him to ask him any question he wanted to no matter how personal.

He restrained from asking any of the questions he actually wanted to ask.

Why did you accept the proposal? Why don’t you try to spend more time with Jihyun? Why are you so nice? Why do you go to bed so late and wake up so early?

Those were all things he wanted to ask but the only thing he had actually asked of the prince was to have some free time if he couldn’t be of any help. The prince had agreed almost immediately and it made Donghyuck feel a bit bad. Was he really that much of a bother?

He voiced all of this to Jeno, complaining about how Prince Mark didn’t need a manservant anyways and he took all of Donghyuck’s precious time.

“I don’t think you should take it that seriously Hyuck. It’s just his third day here, do you want him to feel completely comfortable here and know everything he could do instead of reading?” Jeno asked and continued petting the puppy lying on his lap.

Donghyuck pouted and crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall and watching his friend look all peaceful.

“I don’t know Jen! It’s just so frustrating. I can’t even judge his character very well because he only reads.”

Jeno looked back up at him and sighed. He’d always been the one out of the two of them to think things through and not act impulsively. At least most of the time.

“Why don’t you show him some fun things to do then? Go out on a ride with him or something. Show him the woods or the town or whatever. I honestly think he just doesn’t know what to do instead of reading. It’s not his country and he can’t hang out with Jihyun all the time. Especially since she’s been sick since the day he arrived.

“By the way, Jisungie said both Jihyun and Prince Minhyung’s manservant, what was his name again?”

Jeno tilted his head and stopped talking in the middle of his sentence, leaving Donghyuck to shake his head and sigh.

“Chenle,” he helpfully supplied and watched as Jeno’s eyes lit up.

“Right, Chenle! They’re both doing better. Jisungie said Chenle just has something like a cold and had been too cold for too long and Jihyun has the flu.”

Donghyuck, furrowed his brows and leaned forward, wondering if he’d heard right.

“Jihyun has the flu?”

Jeno nodded and patted Donghyuck’s arm when he saw his worried expression.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured him, “she’ll be fine by tomorrow. Jisungie has given her some herbs and he said her symptoms were actually kind of weak.”

Donghyuck hummed and just hoped nobody else would get sick. They really didn’t need a massive outbreak.

He got up from his seat on the floor with a groan, deciding to go look for Prince Mark and tell him about both Chenle and Jihyun. Though the prince should worry about them himself enough to ask someone how they were doing but Donghyuck was feeling nice enough to ignore that for now.

He bid Jeno goodbye and took a detour through the gardens on his way to the library where he expected the prince to be. However, before he could enter the castle again he heard the clashing of swords coming from the training ground. It wasn’t that much of an unusual occurrence as the knights and sometimes the king himself would train there.

However that training had a fixed schedule and now was definitely not the time to be training. Since it was almost time for lunch.

And so Donghyuck decided to go see who the hell was sparring when it was so hot and the sun high in the sky. He walked towards the training ground and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the two figures in front of him.

Prince Mark was having a sparring match with Johnny. Both of them were pretty sweaty, from the heat or the training Donghyuck couldn’t tell. Maybe it was both.

They were both clad in considerably shorter clothes than what any of the knights trained in. Short sleeved tunics and short trousers. Donghyuck briefly wondered if that was what they trained in in the Lee Queendom before his attention got drawn back to Prince Mark and Johnny as their swords clashed and they were having a staring match over their crossed swords.

That was another unusual thing. No one Donghyuck had seen practicing had done so with real swords as they didn’t want to actually cut their opponents.

He continued to watch their training session.

Both of them were pretty agile though it seemed like Johnny used continuous attacks with brute force while Prince Mark looked for open spots and tried to use those to his advantage.

The match ended abruptly with Johnny deflecting Prince Mark’s sword and slapping the back of his head with his hand as Prince Mark stumbled past him.

“Ah come on Johnny!” the prince whined as he held his head, “Was that really necessary?”

Johnny just grinned and spun his sword around while wiping the sweat off his forehead.

“You know me Mark. I had to let you know which one of us actually had the upper hand in this fight.”

Prince Mark huffed as Donghyuck wondered if not addressing royal children by their proper title in private would become a trend all across the world.

“You did not have the upper hand! We were at least equal and you know it! Just because Ten taught you how to be more defensive doesn’t mean you’re suddenly much better than me. And that’s blatant favouritism anyways! Why does he teach you but not me?”

Before Johnny could answer Donghyuck cleared his throat, finally making the two notice him. At the mention of Ten’s name Donghyuck had remembered why he had left Jeno in the first place.

Johnny and Prince Mark turned around to look at who had disturbed them and they both smiled at the same time.

“Hi Donghyuck. Did you want something?” Johnny asked, still smiling at him and grabbing Prince Mark’s sword.

Donghyuck nodded but he had to ask a question before he could say what he actually wanted to.

“Yeah, um, but before that, why do you train with real swords? Isn’t that dangerous?”

Prince Mark chuckled and took a sword from Johnny before stepping closer. He still kept a distance though, presumably because of all the sweat.

“You see the edges of this sword?” he asked, showing Donghyuck the sword and turning it so that he could inspect the edge further.

It didn’t really look sharp and the sword itself wasn’t really shiny either.

“They’re dulled and the sword itself isn’t new either. It’s very well used and you can’t actually seriously hurt anyone as long as you don’t repeatedly hit them with it.”

Donghyuck nodded in understanding and looked up at Prince Mark. He was so close Donghyuck could almost see the sparkle in his eyes.

Clearing his throat again Donghyuck backed away and said, as confidently as he could, “Well, I actually came here to tell you your manservant and Princess Jihyun are both doing better. And even though I don’t know when your manservant will be good to go again I was told the princess would be fine by tomorrow.”

Prince Mark smiled at him at that, hand coming up to push his hair out of his eyes and wipe the sweat off of his forehead.

“Thank you for telling me Donghyuck. I actually went to see the herbalist a bit after breakfast since I was worried for their health. Jisung actually told me Chenle should be fine in a few days but he wanted to keep him somewhere near to be able to check on him at any given time.”

Johnny chuckled and both Donghyuck and Prince Mark looked at him.

“What now Johnny? If you’re making fun of me I swear I won’t hesitate to hit you with this sword,” hissed the prince and Johnny shook his head, still smiling.

“No, no I’m not making fun of you. I just thought of something really funny.”

Prince Mark squinted at Johnny but didn’t say anything else. They stood in silence for quite some time before Johnny went to snatch the sword from the prince again.

“Well, Mark, if you don’t want to keep training I suggest we take a bath. We probably reek of sweat.”

Johnny’s words were approved by a sigh and a nod from the prince who threaded his fingers through his hair again and then looked at Donghyuck.

“Do you guys have your bathtubs in a set place or do we have to get one ourselves?” he asked and Donghyuck was dumbfounded. He wasn’t going to carry the bathtub himself was he?

At this point he really wouldn’t have been surprised but fortunately they did keep bathtubs in the rooms for nobility and royalty so that they wouldn’t have to wait too long to have a bath set up.

So Donghyuck told the prince this and immediately shot down his offer of helping him carry the water buckets. However, he couldn’t fight off Johnny so those two went to fetch the water and left Prince Mark to go back to his room himself. Apparently he hadn’t realised there’d been an extra room with a bathtub.

Johnny told Donghyuck how Prince Mark had complained about Donghyuck calling him ‘Prince Mark’ and not just ‘Mark’ and so Donghyuck decided to just call him by his name instead. As already established, Donghyuck wasn’t one to refuse an offer that would make his life easier.

Mark, Mark, Mark. It _was_ a bit weird but only because he was called Minhyung by almost everyone else in the castle and using both his informal name and no title made Donghyuck feel closer to him than he actually was.

While Johnny and Donghyuck filled up the bathtub bucket by bucket Mark fumbled around, not able to be still without anything to do as he had left the book he’d been reading at the library.

Donghyuck told him to sit down and stop moving so much and surprisingly Mark listened. He did continue bouncing his leg and picking at his clothes though and Donghyuck wanted to slap him. Johnny laughed at him and told him he’d get used to it after a few more days.

When the bath was all ready, water not too hot but not too cold either Mark got up from his chair and immediately stripped off his shirt.

To Donghyuck’s surprise Johnny got rid of his shirt as well. When he asked what that was about Johnny simply answered, “Oh, well, Mark and I have been bathing together since he was little. It just became usual. Why waste perfectly good water, you know?”

Donghyuck chose to not think about it too much and asked if they would be alright without him then since they could scrub each other’s back. Mark just nodded and as he was about to get out of his trousers Donghyuck turned away and speed walked out of the room. He did not feel the need to see Mark or Johnny naked.

Having seen their upper bodies was enough for him. Johnny had said Mark didn’t have a body as good as his which was true. But that didn’t mean Mark didn’t look good.

Shaking his head Donghyuck wandered around the castle in search of some peace and quiet to wrap his head around the events of the last hour.

¤¤¤

Donghyuck only saw Mark again at dinner. He was all cleaned up, hair freshly washed and no sign of the sweat from his training.

Queen Hyunjae and Mark sat on one side of the table while King Taeil and Queen Choonhee sat on the other. Jihyun was still absent and Donghyuck could see Mark glancing at her empty seat next to the queen.

Dinner was pretty quiet. Some idle chatter between the adults and though Mark could also be counted as an adult Donghyuck thought he really looked way to young for that.

It didn’t remain like that though. When everyone except for Mark had eaten up everything on their plates Queen Choonhee spoke up.

“So Minhyung, what do you think of our daughter?”

Donghyuck saw Mark tense and he asked himself what that was about. Was he scared to say something wrong since he and Jihyun had barely even exchanged words? Or was it something entirely else?

“She’s lovely. I haven’t spent a lot of time with her but from what I’ve noticed her company is very enjoyable,” Mark answered. The words seemed a bit forced, a bit rehearsed if Donghyuck’s affiliation with dramas didn’t fail him. He wondered why it was that way. Whenever they had interacted it did sound very friendly, nothing to warrant such a tone.

Queen Choonhee hummed and tapped her fingers on the table before asking, “And you are aware of why we have suddenly asked for a marriage?”

Mark gripped at his armchairs hard enough to make his knuckles go white and Donghyuck was hit by a sudden sense of déjà vu. The prince put a clearly forced smile on his face as he nodded.

“Then I trust you will take good care of our daughter?”

Donghyuck saw Mark clench his jaw at that question, smile still on his face.

“Of course.” He got up. “May I be excused? I feel quite tired and would like to go to bed for now.”

The king nodded before anyone could say anything and Mark walked out of the room, fingers flexing at his sides. Donghyuck followed him, apparently faster on his feet than Johnny was though he was pretty sure the tall man slowed down on purpose.

Mark didn’t walk very fast but Donghyuck only caught up to him a few hallways further down as he hadn’t wanted to run and attract any attention.

“Hey!”

Mark turned around. His brows were furrowed, jaw clenching and unclenching, fingers still flexing at his side. It was a bit unsettling, if Donghyuck was being honest, that he could change that much because of a single question.

“Look,” Donghyuck started, “I get it if you’re uncomfortable with Princess Jihyun being… attracted to other girls but don’t you think you should’ve just not accepted the proposal then? And before you ask how I know either of those, I was there when she came out, okay?

“And I think if you knew about her and you’re uncomfortable with it you should have just declined. I’m sure it would’ve made both your lives way easier.”

After Donghyuck’s little speech Mark didn’t seem so tense anymore. On the contrary, he suddenly looked very tired. He let out a long sigh and his eyes were downcast, staring at the floor.

Mark mumbled something but Donghyuck didn’t hear it, standing too far away to hear those quiet words.

“Sorry?”

He stepped closer, leaning forward just as Mark looked up, eyes incredibly tired, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile that couldn’t count as one.

“I said that’s not it Donghyuck. I’m not uncomfortable with it, okay? I-“

Mark cleared his throat and looked away. “Just forget it.”

And Donghyuck watched as Mark turned around and walked away, shoulders hunched and head not proudly held up like it normally was.

Something hurt in Donghyuck's chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :(
> 
> By the way, if anyone was wondering, the royals are having their meals by themselves, so it's just the Moon family and the Lee family at the table.


	6. To the rescue, here she is

Mark and Donghyuck didn't talk about what happened.

When Donghyuck came into Mark's room the next morning he didn't ask and Mark didn't try to explain himself.

But there was a tension between them Mark couldn’t quite explain. Even though nothing had really changed Mark was pretty sure the lack of conversation was what made him feel that way.

Normally they would’ve just talked about whatever was on their mind or exchange their opinions on the book Mark was currently reading as Donghyuck seemed to read a lot too.

It had been fun to bicker a bit here and there with someone who he hadn’t known for a long time.

Mark had forgotten how good it felt to get to know others for the first time since he never really tried to after having accumulated his little circle of friends.

And now as he had lost a potential friend because of his own actions he felt really really bad. Johnny told Mark to go talk to Donghyuck because apparently he doubted Donghyuck hated Mark now.

Mark wasn’t so sure about that.

After breakfast he gave Donghyuck the rest of the day off because he didn’t want the other to feel uncomfortable and Mark proceeded to bury himself in books.

Johnny huffed but didn’t say anything about it and Mark appreciated that.

And so he kept reading until the sun almost reached the top of the mountains in the west, missing lunch and not having any plans to attend dinner. Mark was so engrossed in his book that he didn’t notice the door to the library opening and someone stepping inside.

“Get off your ass Mark or I’m going to physically drag you to dinner.”

Mark flinched and looked up, startled by someone suddenly speaking.

Before him stood Jihyun, hands on her hips and brows furrowed. She looked way better than she had when he had visited her the day before. Her face wasn’t sickly pale anymore and her eyes held that fire in them again.

Mark put down his book and stood up from where he had sat on a very comfortable chair. Jihyun opened her arms, inviting Mark into a hug without saying a word and Mark took the silent invitation.

They didn’t have much of a size difference, though Jihyun could comfortably tuck her head onto Mark’s shoulder.

“Why are you here Mark? We could’ve hung out the whole day after eight years of not seeing each other and you chose to read instead?” she asked accusingly, though her arms stayed around Mark and her voice sounded very small.

Mark sighed and put his cheek on Jihyun’s head.

“I guess I just grew used to it. I’ve been in the library every day since we arrived and I couldn’t help coming here,” he answered before looking around and ending the hug by stepping back.

“Where’s Ten by the way? Outside?”

Jihyun shook her head and grinned.

“On our way here we saw Johnny roaming around and I told Ten I’d be okay if I was with you so now they’re probably roaming around together or something.”

Mark made a face and chose not to think about Johnny and Ten ‘roaming around’. He liked the two and he was happy for them, he really was but imagining them doing anything that was more than talking was not something he enjoyed doing.

Mark’s thoughts were interrupted by Jihyun hitting his arm lightly and saying, “Well, now that you know where Ten is are you going to come to dinner with me willingly or am I going to have to drag you after all?”

But she smiled at him after and Mark smiled back.

“Nah I’m good. Let’s go.”

¤¤¤

Dinner went okay.

Their parents looked at them when they showed up late. And together at that. As far as Taeil and Choonhee were concerned Mark and Jihyun didn’t know each other well enough to show up late together and so they were bombarded with questions that Jihyun deflected easily.

Mark was a bit stunned by her ability to answer question in a way that answered them but didn’t really. His mother grinned at Jihyun and Jihyun grinned back and Mark was even more stunned.

After dinner Jihyun got Mark to accompany her to her room so that they could talk in private, without having to risk anyone walking in on them.

Jihyun sat cross-legged in the middle of her bed and patted the spot in front of her to make Mark sit down. He took the seat and they just looked at each other for a bit.

Since they hadn’t seen each other for such a long time their appearances had changed a lot. Jihyun’s hair was actually cut shorter than before and it was a lighter shade of brown. Her freckles were less dominant and her jaw line stronger. Mark thought if he didn’t know her like he did and saw her for the first time he’d probably crush on her.

“So, why were you in the library all alone with neither Johnny nor Donghyuck and how come I didn’t see Donghyuck at dinner?” Jihyun asked, crossing her arms and squinting at Mark.

Mark sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He kind of expected Jihyun to ask, just not so soon and especially not while sounding like an overprotective sister.

“Donghyuck and I… I guess we had a bit of a misunderstanding. At dinner yesterday Choonhee asked me what I thought about you and I didn’t want to give us away so I answered really vaguely, you know how I get.”

Mark swallowed once, twice and Jihyun put a comforting hand on his knee.

“But then she asked me if I knew why they suddenly asked for a marriage.”

Jihyun sucked in a breath and rubbed Mark’s knee gently. It astounded him just how well she actually knew him, considering most of their friendship consisted of writing letters. But then again he liked to think he knew her very well too.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about her not hesitating to marry you off, Jihyun. It pissed me off and it made me feel so sad at the same time. I guess it wasn’t hard to tell considering Donghyuck noticed and confronted me right after I excused myself.

“It’s just that he thought I was uncomfortable with you being gay and that’s why I reacted that way. He said I shouldn’t have accepted the proposal if I was uncomfortable and that it would’ve made both of our lives easier,” Mark said, Donghyuck’s expression flashing before his eyes again.

He had seemed legitimately upset and maybe a bit hurt at the thought of Mark having accepted the proposal even though he was uncomfortable with it.

Jihyun grabbed Mark’s chin and forced him to look up. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her thumb continuously caressed Mark’s cheekbone.

Her voice was soft when she asked, “But that’s not all that happened, right? You wouldn’t cut him off because of that.”

“I didn’t cut him off!” Mark protested, “I just thought he would feel uncomfortable around me now and I didn’t want him to be so I gave him the day off.”

Jihyun took her hand away from Mark’s face and rubbed at her temples instead, closing her eyes and sighing at the same time.

“Alright but are you going to tell me what happened after he told you that you shouldn’t have accepted?”

“Yeah so,” Mark cleared his throat, now embarrassed by how he had reacted to Donghyuck’s statement. He should’ve made himself clear but he really had been very tired and irritated so he couldn’t think right anymore.

“I said that I’m not uncomfortable with you being gay because it’s true. But I didn’t further elaborate on why I reacted like I did so he probably assumed I was lying or something.”

Mark looked at Jihyun to gauge her reaction. She tilted her head and squinted at him for quite some time without saying anything.

To Mark it seemed like she didn’t even breathe before she nodded and announced, “I think you should just talk to him honestly. You don’t have to explain yourself. Just get that misunderstanding out of there. I like to think I know Donghyuck and if you try to talk things out I’m pretty sure he’ll listen.”

“Okay,” Mark agreed, already planning on how to apologize to Donghyuck.

Jihyun smiled and took Mark’s hand in hers. They still had eight years to talk about in detail.

¤¤¤

When Mark finally left Jihyun’s room it was well into the night and Ten had come in, telling Mark to let the princess get her beauty sleep.

And so Mark wandered around in the castle, on his way to the chambers of the kitchen staff to get a snack from Renjun.

Renjun had been around almost ever since Mark started having urges for food at the weirdest time of day. Not a single kitchen staff had wanted to be Mark’s personal cook because they valued their time off. But Renjun, who’d been new to their castle at the time, had volunteered.

The two of them, Mark and Renjun, had been getting along very well. Renjun liked people who were easy to tease and Mark liked smart people. It was like a match made in heaven.

Ever since Renjun was established as Mark’s personal cook Mark could ask him for something to eat whenever he wanted to and Renjun would prepare it for him.

And even though Renjun complained about how Mark was unbearable and should learn how to prepare something for himself he never said no to him.

Mark was almost at the chambers Renjun had claimed as his own for the time, or his own and another boy’s, when he bumped into someone.

That someone turned out to be Donghyuck. He held his head and groaned before looking up and seeing that it was Mark who’d bumped into him.

Donghyuck scrambled to stand straight and like he wasn’t in pain. Mark felt bad, oh so bad, for making him feel like he had to do that.

“Donghyuck, can we talk?” he asked, not wanting to waste a chance when it was given to him.

Donghyuck nodded stiffly.

“Could we sit though? I don’t really feel like standing up.”

This time it was Mark who nodded and they sat down right there. On the floor of a castle hallway in the middle of the night while basically everyone else was asleep.

They were silent for a bit, Mark not knowing how to start and Donghyuck playing with his fingers.

“I just-“

“Sorry-“

Mark and Donghyuck looked at each other and Donghyuck cracked a smile at their simultaneous outbursts. He gestured towards Mark and nodded, “You can go first.”

Mark cleared his throat and tried to gather his thoughts again. He didn’t want to make a mistake again and if he said something wrong now he’d probably lose the chance of being friends with Donghyuck.

“Okay, so, I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I was really tired and I couldn’t think straight. I’m really not uncomfortable with Jihyun’s sexuality and I’m going to tell you something you’re going to have to keep secret just to be sure.”

Mark waited for Donghyuck to nod before he continued, “Jihyun and I have been friends for years. When we first met as kids we immediately clicked and confided in each other. I’m bi and came out to Jihyun on the day I had to leave and in turn Jihyun came out to me. We’ve been sending each other letters, talking about anything and everything but her parents don’t know about that.

“Jihyun wanted to keep our friendship secret so that her parents wouldn’t try to set us up.”

He laughed bitterly. “As you can see that didn’t really work out.”

Donghyuck didn’t say anything in response. He just kept looking at Mark with a tilted head and stopped playing with his fingers.

Mark blushed.

“Can you say something too? And stop staring at me? I feel like you’re accessing whether I’m telling the truth or not by my looks.”

At that Donghyuck laughed. His laugh was very cute. He threw his head back, scrunched his nose and closed his eyes. And Mark felt overwhelmed again.

“I guess you could say that. I was just trying to figure you out a bit, don’t worry,” Donghyuck said after he stopped laughing and looked at Mark again.

“But I should apologize too actually. I shouldn’t have assumed that you’re uncomfortable with the princesses’ sexuality. That was a really shitty move.”

Mark shook his head and smiled at Donghyuck to make him understand that he wasn’t angry at him or anything.

“It’s okay Donghyuck. If I was in your situation I probably would’ve assumed so too.”

Donghyuck tilted his head again and held his hand out.

“So we’re good again?”

Mark took it.

“We’re good again.”

¤¤¤

Mark ended up not going to Renjun that night. Instead Donghyuck brought him outside so that they could look at the stars.

They talked about whatever came to mind because Donghyuck had said they should probably get to know each other better so that misunderstandings like that wouldn’t happen again.

Mark had happily agreed and so he talked about his life and his friends and Donghyuck did the same. Both of them told their stories of how they got to know Jihyun.

When Mark told Donghyuck he knew about Eunha ever since they got together Donghyuck asked when exactly that had been just to be completely shocked. Then he told Mark people just had started walking in on them for maybe two years and he only knew that because apparently he had ears everywhere.

Mark was convinced Donghyuck liked gossip and that’s how he knew but Donghyuck denied it every time.

They learned a lot about each other. Donghyuck was compassionate, nice and sassy at the same time which Mark liked very much; it was a very unique character.

Donghyuck ranted to Mark about his two friends who drove him crazy with their flirting and Mark revealed to Donghyuck that Johnny and Ten were dating. At that Donghyuck laughed, saying he did so because he’d imagined them kissing and he had pictured Ten on his tippy toes which made Mark laugh as well.

Their talk went well. So well in fact that Donghyuck insisted on walking Mark back to his room and laughed behind his hand when he saw Johnny who was waiting for Mark at his door.

“Good night Mark. Sleep well,” Donghyuck told him and Mark’s heart fluttered as it had been the first time Donghyuck had actually just called him by his name. He thought he should return the favour.

“I hope you have good dreams Hyuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And everything is okay again. Or almost everything. But they're kind of friends and I can write them bickering!
> 
> Also I'm already getting stressed with school and it hasn't even really started yet so if I don't upload for a long time it's because I want to die.


	7. Different Meetings, Different Friends

The second Mark and Donghyuck made up Donghyuck decided to show Mark around. He couldn’t just sit around and read all the time with the occasional training here and there.

So when Donghyuck walked into Mark’s room the next morning and found him already dressed and reading his book he strode up to Mark and took the book out of his hands.

“Hey!” Mark protested and looked at Donghyuck with an angry pout, though if Donghyuck was being honest it looked rather cute. The prince had his eyebrows furrowed and even though he tried to look upset he really didn’t.

Donghyuck crossed his arms, book still in hand. “You’re not going to read today. You’re going to hang out with me and my friends, excluding Jisung because he has to take care of your manservant, and you’re going to enjoy it.”

At that Mark snorted and looked up at Donghyuck with mirth in his eyes. Donghyuck continued to look down at him, not budging from where he was standing.

“Alright Donghyuck. I’ll hang out with you and your friends. I wanna see if they’re really as insufferable as you made them out to be.”

Donghyuck grinned at that and finally put the book down on the table before turning to Mark again. He wanted to ask him to call him ‘Hyuck’ again. It made Donghyuck feel lighter, like this friendship was on more equal terms but he was embarrassed of feeling like that.

He bit his lip and fiddled with his fingers, unable to voice his thoughts. Donghyuck’s eyes were downcast as he tried to think about how he should phrase what he wanted to ask.

Mark stood up from his seat and leaned down to look Donghyuck in the eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows worriedly and asked, “Are you alright Hyuck? You seem a bit anxious.”

Donghyuck blushed at Mark casually calling him by a nickname all of a sudden and recoiled a bit, surprised by their close proximity.

“I’m alright. I actually, uh, wanted to ask you to call me Hyuck again.”

He looked up at Mark who raised his eyebrows in surprise. At least that’s what Donghyuck thought it was.

“It’s just, god how do I say this, it seems more like we’re on the same level you know? Since we’re friends and all. Calling me Donghyuck seems a bit distant,” Donghyuck hurried to explain himself as he felt his cheeks growing warmer.

Mark chuckled and hid his mouth behind his hand. “Alright I’ll call you Hyuck then.”

Donghyuck smiled and the two of them just looked at each other in silence until Johnny opened the door, startling them out of their sudden stupor.

“Alright guys, playtime is over. It’s time for breakfast. And Mark,” Johnny turned to glare at Mark, “if I see you leaving half of the food on your plate again I am going to beat your ass.”

Mark sighed but nodded before smiling at Donghyuck and heading off to go eat breakfast.

Donghyuck and Johnny followed dutifully with Donghyuck asking the tall man if it was a normal occurrence for Mark to eat very little and dropping subtle hints about the fact that he knew Ten and Johnny were a couple.

Johnny told him it was pretty normal and easily seemed to catch the hints, grinning and putting a finger on his lips. He winked at Donghyuck right before they entered the room the royal families had their meals in and Donghyuck tried to wink back. Emphasis on tried because he really couldn’t do it for the life of him.

When Mark sat down and Donghyuck took his place behind him he saw Jihyun smile at him from across the table and he smiled back. Jihyun’s smile turned into a grin as she redirected her gaze and wiggled her eyebrows at Mark, motioning towards Donghyuck with her head.

Donghyuck saw Mark roll his eyes. It really seemed like the two were very close and he wondered if he should ask Jihyun to hang out with them as well.

Johnny and Ten were trying to undress each other with their eyes from across the room and Donghyuck had a hard time trying not to laugh.

Except for their little silent conversation in the beginning Jihyun and Mark didn’t look at each other much to Donghyuck’s surprise. Then he remembered they weren’t supposed to know each other and he felt a bit bad.

“So Minhyung, what did you do for the past few days?” the king asked at one point and Mark sat back to smile at him.

“Not much. I mostly just read. Your library is very beautiful by the way,” he answered.

Donghyuck swore he could see Jihyun hiding a smile behind her hand.

The king smiled back at Mark and folded his hands in front of him. He reminded Donghyuck a bit of a proud father. He had had a similar look on his face when Jihyun had come out.

“That’s nice of you to say. However, I wish you would use your time for more exciting things. I’m sure Jihyun would like to show you around.”

Donghyuck immediately felt discouraged by the king’s words. Mark couldn’t just flat out refuse him and neither could Jihyun since they were supposed to get to know each other and Jihyun loved to show others around.

Jihyun cleared her throat and everyone turned to look at her. She tugged a strand of hair behind her ear and said, “I would like that but since I just recovered from my illness Jisung said I shouldn’t be out and about too much for at least a week. I’m sure Minhyung’s manservant would do a job just as good as me showing him around.”

Queen Choonhee frowned at Jihyun’s words, piping up for the first time, “You can’t just leave that to a servant. Besides, you’re supposed to get to know each other Jihyun. You don’t have to show him around right now but I’d like for you two to spend time with each other.”

Donghyuck really disliked her. She only thought about what she wanted her daughter to do and not what her daughter actually wanted.

Before anyone else could open their mouth Mark’s mother stepped in.

“Now, now. Let’s not be too harsh here. I think it would be good enough if the servant boy showed my son around and Jihyun and he got to know each other gradually and naturally, not because of forced time together.”

Now, that Donghyuck could endorse with all his heart. It surprised him just how different the mothers were. Queen Choonhee was very focused on her ideal world while Queen Hyunjae seemingly let Mark have a lot of freedom.

Queen Choonhee sighed but leaned back in her seat.

“Alright, the boy can show him around but I want Jihyun and Minhyung to spend at least a day every week together.”

Queen Hyunjae nodded to that and got Jihyun and Mark to agree as well.

After that almost no words where said until Jihyun got up and excused herself, throwing a subtle glance in Mark’s direction and Mark seemed to get the message.

He got up just a bit after Jihyun had and asked to be excused, being granted to exit the room by his mother.

Jihyun waited for them just a bit outside and Donghyuck could see her fingers twitching, probably wanting to hug Mark since Donghyuck knew she really liked skin ship.

“Let’s go to my room boys,” she said to no one in particular as everyone currently around her was male.

And so Donghyuck found himself in Jihyun’s room more than a week after his last visit.

Ten and Johnny stood just outside, having a hushed conversation and both Donghyuck and Mark awkwardly looked around the room, unsure of what exactly they were supposed to do.

Jihyun sighed and gestured towards her bed.

“Make yourselves comfortable.”

Mark shook his head vehemently and declared, “We can’t just sit on your bed every time when you have perfectly good chairs right there.”

Jihyun narrowed her eyes at Mark and pointed her finger at him.

“Mark Lee, if you do not sit down on my bed right this instant I will tell Ten to make out with Johnny on _your_ bed.”

Mark made a face and crossed his arms but sat down on the bed regardless. Then Jihyun turned to Donghyuck.

“Donghyuck,” she beamed and wound her arms around him. Donghyuck was shocked to say the least. Jihyun had never been very affectionate with him, considering they didn’t talk that often. “I’m so glad you guys made up. You see, Mark is very self deprecating but I had him come to his senses as quickly as I could.”

Donghyuck laughed and reciprocated the hug. It was nice to be all casual with her and seeing that she didn’t seem to have any problems with Mark. He liked to watch other people interact and those two really gave off the feeling of having been friends for a long time.

Jihyun pulled back and made Donghyuck sit on the bed as well before sitting down herself. They were sitting so that they could all see each other, everyone cross-legged and leaning slightly forward. Donghyuck thought it looked funny how Jihyun dress deformed when she crossed her legs.

“So,” Jihyun spoke up, “what do you guys have planned for today? Since Mark looked a bit troubled when father said I could show him around I assume you already wanted to do something.”

Mark nodded and looked at Donghyuck which the latter guessed was a way to let him know that he should answer.

Donghyuck grinned and said, “I’m going to introduce him to my friends. If he’s going to stay here a bit there’s no avoiding them anyways so I thought I’d get it over and done with. You’re invited too so if you want to come just say the word.”

At that Jihyun smiled back and opened her mouth to answer when they heard the door open.

Donghyuck scrambled to stand up next to the bed at the same time as Mark, and Jihyun hurriedly sat on the edge of the bed, making her dress look alright again.

Turns out they shouldn’t have made such a fuss because it was only Eunha who was now laughing in their faces as she looked at the situation in front of her.

“That made you look even more suspicious guys! Do you think I couldn’t see you all on the bed before? Now it just looks like you guys were trying to have an orgy in the middle of the day.”

Mark choked on air, face red as a tomato and Donghyuck took pity on him, fetching him a glass of water from Jihyun’s table. It wasn’t like Jihyun and he weren’t blushing, Mark’s case was just more severe, coughing sounds overlapping with Eunha’s laughter.

“Sorry, sorry. Wasn’t my intention to kill the prince,” she apologised, smile still on her face.

Jihyun giggled and invited her to sit with them which Eunha gladly did.

After that, because there were four of them now, they spoke over each other so often they had to start raising their hands when they wanted to speak. Donghyuck invited Eunha to hang out with his friends as well but both girls declined, saying they already had plans but would maybe join at a later date.

They talked a bit more, about what to do when Jihyun and Mark have to spend their day together and then moved on to more fun topics.

¤¤¤

Donghyuck wandered through the castle, Mark and Johnny in tow not much later since he wanted Mark and his friends to meet as soon as possible. He went to look for Jeno first, hoping for Jaemin to already be with him so that he didn’t have to bail him out of the kitchen. And much to Donghyuck’s delight Jaemin and Jeno really were together with the pets.

“What’s up boys? I hope you weren’t having a serious conversation in here because I am not going out of this room any time soon,” Donghyuck exclaimed the second he opened the door and saw Jeno and Jaemin laying beside each other, letting themselves be smothered by the dogs and cats alike.

Jaemin rolled his eyes and got up when his eyes fell on Mark. He froze, eyes flicking between Donghyuck and Mark before he bowed deeply. Donghyuck almost laughed before he remembered he hadn’t seen Jaemin during the time he served as Mark’s manservant and Jeno wasn’t one to tattle so he most probably didn’t know about Mark being a huge dork.

“Your Royal Highness.”

Mark looked moderately shocked like he hadn’t expected to be greeted like that but at the same time didn’t oppose it.

Donghyuck watched as Mark raised his hands and shook his head even though Jaemin couldn’t see him. By now Jeno had also gotten up, grinning at Donghyuck from behind Jaemin.

Mark stepped closer to Jaemin and spluttered, “No, no, no. None of that, oh my god. Call me Mark, please. I don’t really want to have a social status barrier up between me and Hyuck’s friends.”

Jaemin glanced up at Mark, straightening his posture again. He looked a bit confused and first eyed Mark curiously, then Donghyuck.

Donghyuck blushed. Hearing Mark call him ‘Hyuck’ even in front of his friends made it even more meaningful for some reason. Even though he could already hear Jaemin making fun of him for it.

“Sorry, Mark? Isn’t your name Minhyung?” Jaemin asked, head tilted and Mark blushed a little.

“It is but Minhyung is more for formal stuff you know and, well, I hope we become friends so my formal name would be a bit inappropriate.”

At that Jaemin laughed and Mark looked relieved, smiling at both Jaemin and Jeno for the first time. Jeno stepped forward, holding out his hand that Mark promptly took. Donghyuck grinned at them.

“I’m Jeno, the pet sitter and the boy next to me is Hyuck’s best friend Jaemin. He’s kitchen staff and a bit annoying if I’m honest-“

Jeno was cut off by Jaemin huffing and gently hitting his arm, mumbling about how he wasn’t annoying at all.

Mark’s face lit up as he looked at Jaemin again and, damn, he was _pretty_.

“Do you know Renjun then? Small, savage, probably looks like he wants to kill you in the morning?” he asked in an excited voice and his eyes practically sparkled as Jaemin nodded.

“We’re roommates actually. So he came with you? That’s why he kept complaining about a Mark.”

Jaemin mumbled the last part and Donghyuck already imagined bonding with Renjun about their mutual complaining considering Mark. It had worked with Johnny why shouldn’t it work with him too?

Donghyuck clapped his hands, gaining him the attention of everyone around him including the pets.

“Well boys, now that the introductions are over and done with shall we get to the fun part?”

Everyone agreed and Donghyuck got them to sit down.

Conversation flowed naturally. It seemed like Mark had a lot of interests outside of reading that included raising pets, riding, sparring and playing any instruments he could lay his hands on. At some point Johnny joined their little circle, probably feeling left out and spiced things up even more.

He mostly told embarrassing stories about Mark that either Donghyuck or Jaemin countered with any embarrassing story of their friends. Jeno was the only one who didn’t talk a lot, instead opting to smile at Mark a lot and asking him what he liked and disliked before sharing his own views. The two of them seemed to get along very well and Donghyuck could see Jaemin slowly but surely growing jealous of Mark having all of Jeno’s attention.

And then Jeno put his hand on Jaemin’s thigh out of nowhere, making Jaemin blush and stumble over his words. Donghyuck thought it was very cute.

“So Mark, what do you think of the princess?” Jaemin asked and Mark froze, suddenly seeming hesitant and glancing at Donghyuck.

Donghyuck wasn’t entirely sure why he looked at him instead of answering before it clicked. Mark thought about telling Jeno and Jaemin the truth and was silently asking Donghyuck if he thought they wouldn’t tell anyone else. Donghyuck nodded, smiling at Mark to encourage him.

“Well,” Mark started and cleared his throat. “I love her. Like, I’ve known her for years and we’ve been best friends ever since we first saw each other so yeah. She’s lovely. Very nice and strong as well.”

Donghyuck’s friends just blinked at Mark as Donghyuck and Johnny tried to hide their chuckles behind their hands. Mark was so awkward it was a bit painful to listen to that statement.

Jeno was the first one to come back to life.

“So you’ve been friends with Jihyun for years? Why did you never come here then? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen your mother a couple of times.”

Mark scratched his head, looking at the floor a bit abashedly.

“We didn’t want to risk getting found out. Queen Choonhee probably would’ve set us up the second she noticed how close we are and you might imagine that Jihyun wouldn’t really have been into that.”

Jeno made a little ‘ahh’ sound. As did Jaemin, he just didn’t look as cute as Jeno doing it.

“So you know she’s gay?”

Mark nodded and smiled. Donghyuck appreciated him being truthful to his friends and not keeping the façade of not knowing Jihyun up around them. And even though he hadn’t said they were actually engaged now Donghyuck didn’t judge him too hard for that. It hadn’t been announced yet and while Mark and Jihyun loved each other it was entirely platonic and you didn’t necessarily want to talk about marrying your best friend basically out of necessity.

“I named one of the pets without a name after the princess,” Jeno piped up and everything returned to how it was before again.

Mark seemed a lot more comfortable now, joking around with everyone and laughing at Jaemin when cat Jihyun jumped in his face and made him fall backwards.

Donghyuck found he liked it like this. Mark fit right into his friend group, more down-to-earth than any other prince he’d met before. If Donghyuck ever got the chance to talk to Queen Hyunjae he’d have to thank her for the way she raised him.

¤¤¤

The boys had spent their time having so much fun that even Johnny forgot that lunch was a thing. For some reason all five of them only remembered it when the dogs started whining and Jeno remembered that he should go on a walk with them. So Donghyuck, Jeno, Mark and Johnny readied the dogs after Mark offered to help since he hadn’t really gotten out of the castle at all and Jaemin went rushing to the kitchen, preparing himself for a scolding from Doyoung.

They went the usual route. Out of the castle walls, along the paved street for a bit and into the woods, walking until the dogs were exhausted and then walking back the same way they came from.

Mark looked like a little kid, fascinated at every bird or butterfly that crossed their path. Every plant he hadn’t seen before elicited a little ‘wow’ and Johnny whispered to Donghyuck and Jeno that Mark loved reading about everything yet still reacted like that every time he saw something new.

At one point Mark had gone cross-eyed, trying to look at a butterfly that landed on his nose.

Donghyuck thought it was very endearing.

¤¤¤

The rest of the day wasn’t very eventful but considering there wasn’t much left of the day anyways it was pretty much justified.

When they got back from the walk it was already time for dinner so Mark attended it, engaging it short conversations with the adults and exchanging a few sentences with Jihyun. Donghyuck wondered how he would’ve acted if he actually didn’t know Jihyun and he came to the conclusion that he probably would’ve been more friendly and eager to befriend her.

After dinner Mark invited Donghyuck to play a game of chess with him and even though Donghyuck had never played chess before and Mark had to explain the rules first it became clear pretty fast that Donghyuck easily learned things.

Mark won after about thirty minutes of playing the game and complaining about Donghyuck being too good at it. Donghyuck would just shoot back that Mark was just bad every time and Mark would pout as if it had been the first time Donghyuck basically insulted him.

After their game ended Donghyuck made Mark go to bed. He forced Mark to get changed into his night clothes and watched with crossed arms as he climbed into bed. Then he smiled and wished him a good night before extinguishing the candles.

Donghyuck knew Mark probably wouldn’t go to sleep soon but at least he was in bed already. Outside he wished Johnny a good night as well and went to go to sleep himself. Over the day it had become apparent just how nice and easily befriendable Mark really was and Donghyuck really liked that about him.

Sure, there had been a lot of nice royal children but most of them still had that air of superiority around them that kept any servants away. Mark willingly offered friendship to people below his status and was actually interested in them.

Donghyuck respected him for that. That he could put status away that easily where others couldn’t.

He really respected him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back! I started writing this chapter like two weeks ago but I just felt like it sucked so I put it off for some time and finished it today. I hope it doesn't seem rushed or anything and if it does please tell me.  
> Btw I wrote two other fics while this chapter and school stressed me out so if you want to give them a read you're very welcome to.  
> I hope you guys have a good day, week, month and/or year :)


	8. For the First Time

"Come on Mark! This is the last thing you have to see before we can venture out further."

Mark followed an excited, skipping Donghyuck and smiled to himself. Ever since he'd first been introduced to his friends Donghyuck always took him out to the woods and showed him different spots. Like a little lake, somewhere where a lot of animals gathered or a few flower hills. They'd always gone back to the castle for meals though because while Johnny had mostly given up on nagging at Mark to eat Donghyuck hadn’t.

At first the three of them had gone on the trips together but Johnny stopped coming along the day he had spotted a bee just peacefully flying around. Mark wasn’t entirely sure why but Johnny had an irrational fear of bees and the like and wouldn’t go near them unless he had to save someone’s life. However, his explanation of why he didn’t accompany them anymore had been that the place didn’t seem dangerous and if they ever faced a difficult situation Mark could defend himself.

Mark and Donghyuck had laughed but accepted it and continued their little adventures alone. They’d visited Jihyun on the fifth day and she’d shown them a place even Donghyuck hadn’t known. It had been a hidden cave with a lake not far in that sparkled under the sun that shone through the hole in the roof of the cave. Jihyun and Donghyuck had woven fairytales including the lake and the three of them had spent most of their day there.

Now however Mark and Donghyuck were on a trip on their own again. It was late in the afternoon and Mark was carrying a basket Donghyuck had shoved into his hands the second they entered the forest and couldn’t be seen from the castle.

“Mark!” Donghyuck called, making the prince focus on the here and now again. “What are you doing? We don’t have all day!”

Mark looked up to see standing him on a fallen tree with his hands on his hips. Why or how exactly Donghyuck got up there Mark wasn’t entirely sure but what he was sure of was that the boy looked happy.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. God, you’re impatient.”

Donghyuck huffed and jumped off of the tree as Mark approached just to duck under it and beckon Mark closer with a hand. He grinned. “You can only see this at a certain time of day my prince. So hurry, we still have to get up that hill.”

Donghyuck pointed ahead of them towards a pretty steep looking hill as Mark arrived next to him. Mark groaned but continued to follow the other boy without further complains.

Of course he wouldn’t have a problem with climbing a hill as steep as that if it meant he could see Donghyuck happy. He had learned that the boy seemed to glow whenever he so much as smiled and Mark wasn’t someone cruel enough to not make a boy who’s capable of doing that happy.

As Donghyuck continued onwards Mark was left alone with his thoughts again. He really enjoyed what they’d been doing the last few days. Exploring and telling stories. Both Donghyuck and he had a lot to tell and whenever one of them offered a story the other would tell one of his own. Of course their stories were wildly different but that’s what made it so interesting. Mark felt like he knew Donghyuck for years now but it had barely even been three weeks. Never in his life had he felt such a connection with someone and Mark wondered how his life would’ve went if he’d never met Donghyuck. If he ever would’ve found someone he clicked with just as well as with the boy with honey coloured skin.

As they started climbing the hill Mark started to wonder what was in the basket. Why it hadn’t bothered him before he didn’t know but that wasn’t important now anyways.

“Hey Hyuck, what’s in this basket? It seems really heavy, did you put stones in here?” Mark managed to breathe out between heavy pants because climbing that hill didn’t prove itself easy.

Donghyuck himself wasn’t that much better off but he was still in front of Mark, leading the way. He looked back and smirked before continuing on.

“I guess you’ll have to find out by yourself later.”

Again Mark groaned before continuing following after Donghyuck.

¤¤¤

Mark indeed found out what was in the basket not long after. They had arrived on the top of the hill with the sun slowly setting but not quite yet reaching the tops of the mountains. Donghyuck had pulled the cover off the basket and revealed the contents to be the perfect ingredients for a picnic.

“I wanted to show you the sunset from my favourite place but I also wanted you to eat dinner so I thought I’d do both,” Donghyuck had explained himself before demanding Mark’s help in setting the picnic up.

They spread out a pretty large blanket over the spot where no flowers grew and set out different kinds of food. Sandwiches, tarts, some meat and vegetables as well as a few prettily cut apples were all included. Mark gaped at the sheer amount of food on the blanket and then looked up at Donghyuck. The prince continued to look back and forth between Donghyuck and the picnic as Donghyuck stood there looking proud and smug at the same time.

“When did you prepare this? You barely left my side today.”

Donghyuck laughed and ran a hand through his hair before sitting down and petting the spot next to him. Mark took it gladly and kept looking at Donghyuck as he answered, “I didn’t prepare a lot of this. Most of it was Jaemin and I actually got Renjun to help too. He’s pretty cool so we hit it off right away. If Jaemin didn’t exist he’d probably be my best friend by now.”

Mark chuckled and took a sandwich before turning to watch the sunset. The sky was painted in the prettiest colours. Back home he’d rarely watched the sunset, either too occupied with something or not interested enough. Now that he was looking at it he kind of regretted not taking the time to do so before. There were lots of oranges and reds, mixing beautifully with a pink and purple sky.

“You wanted to show me this?” Mark asked quietly, not taking his eyes off of the scenery in front of him. Next to him Donghyuck hummed and Mark could see him nod out of the corner of his eyes. They were quiet after that, enjoying the sunset and the sounds of nature all around them.

When the sun had almost completely disappeared behind the mountains Mark turned to look at Donghyuck who had lain down next to him on the blanket, food long gone and containers stored back into the basket.

Donghyuck had closed his eyes, arms crossed behind his head and a small smile on his face. His breathing was even, his chest rising and falling with every breath the boy took. Mark felt a bit like a creep watching the younger boy while he most probably slept but Donghyuck looked like art. Over the course of the last few days Mark had learned that Donghyuck had different kinds of looks to him.

When Donghyuck was in a professional environment like how it was at first between them there’s a bit of a distance between him and the other person involved. His gaze was neither soft nor sharp but caught somewhere in-between, posture always straight and ready to follow orders.

When they had had their misunderstanding Donghyuck had been scary. His jaw had seemed to become sharper, the look on his face hosting nothing but hostility. At that moment Mark had been a bit scared of the look in Donghyuck’s eyes. It spoke of unending loyalty, anger and disappointment all at once. After that he hadn’t seen that look on Donghyuck again and had come to the conclusion that he didn’t get upset often. That realisation had led to Mark apologizing to Donghyuck again for having misled him in the first place and not having been able to control his emotions better. Donghyuck had waved him off and said it was all in the past anyways.

The look Mark liked the most on Donghyuck was the one he sported when he was happy. Mark had noticed that Donghyuck was easily amused and found joy in the simplest of things. Whenever he found a bug he’d catch it and show it to Mark, excitedly explaining what it’s name was and what it meant to him. He’d laugh at the way Mark stumbled over roots or simply grin when Mark and Johnny bickered. Mark had also noticed Donghyuck looked softer when he was happy. His cheeks would be tinted a pretty pink, accentuating both his tan skin and his moles. Donghyuck’s hair bounced whenever he moved his head more than one normally would and Mark wondered if it was as fluffy as it looked but didn’t have the courage to ask him if he could touch it.

Mark also wondered how Donghyuck saw him. Since they were together basically all the time he had to have formed an opinion on him but it wasn’t really common courtesy to ask others what they thought about oneself. So Mark kept his questions to himself and continued on with how it was before.

“Hey, are you going to continue looking at me with that faraway look in your eyes or are you going to look at part two of my point of coming here so late?”

Donghyuck’s voice startled Mark out of his thoughts once again and Mark looked down on Donghyuck who just blinked right back up at him. Mark just nodded dumbly as an answer to an ‘either-or’ question and turned to look back at the mountains when Donghyuck started to grin. The sun had completely set but it wasn’t as pitch black as Mark had expected it to be. There were small glowing things flying around, enough to slightly illuminate everything around them.

“Woah,” Mark said, stretching out his hand and hoping for one of the things to land on his hand, “what are these?”

Next to him Donghyuck huffed in what Mark assumed to be both surprise and disbelief. Mark turned to look at him again, hand still outstretched and Donghyuck raised an eyebrow.

“Are you serious?”

When Mark nodded Donghyuck huffed again and sat up next to him, shaking his head.

“They’re fireflies. They’re like small bugs that glow in the dark. I don’t really know how that works but it’s pretty cool if you think about it. We need torches and stuff to see in the dark and they just glow and the problem’s solved.”

Donghyuck looked at Mark’s still outstretched hand and snorted, apologising when he saw Mark’s offended look.

“Sorry, but they don’t land on hands as far as I’m concerned. Once I sat here for over an hour and not one of them landed on me,” he informed Mark, pouting at the memory.

Mark laughed and retracted his hand before continuing to stare at the little bugs in wonder. They didn’t have those back home as far as he was concerned and if they did he had to somehow get them into their gardens because he wanted to look at them without having to climb a hill every time.

They sit in silence again before Mark raises his voice barely above a whisper to ask, “What are we going to do with Jihyun tomorrow? Are we going to go out again? Because she was pretty secretive about what she wanted to do. Last time you guys kind of planned it together, right?”

Donghyuck nodded before yawning and stretching out his arms, almost hitting Mark in the face. He apologized while giggling and answered Mark’s question after calming down.

“I don’t know what she has planned but I saw her and Eunha talk in hushed whispers so Eunha might be there with us tomorrow. By the way,” Donghyuck glanced at Mark before sighing and looking forward again, “sorry to bring this up but shouldn’t you want to stop this marriage from happening? Since Jihyun is your best friend and I assume you want to see her happy?”

Mark made a face and laid down on the blanket again, staring up at the sky. Donghyuck had a point. He did wish for Jihyun’s happiness and if he had any say in what was going to happen he wouldn’t get married to her. But he didn’t. He didn’t have any say in it. Because he was neither the crown prince nor someone with authority in a foreign country. Choonhee was very powerful since Taeil almost never opposed her unless it was really necessary. He supposed if Taeil didn’t say anything against the marriage he saw benefits for every party involved.

“Maybe marrying me will make her happy,” Mark answered. “Of course we will never have a romantic relationship because I can literally not give her what she desires. But with me she can keep seeing Eunha and since I’m not the crown prince we can stay here and don’t have to leave the country she loves so.”

Mark sighed and shrugged. Sure, there were some upsides to marrying Jihyun but he was still convinced they’d both be happier if they didn’t marry at all.

Next to him Donghyuck hummed and they just existed next to each other in comfortable silence before Donghyuck yawned again. Mark sat up and looked a Donghyuck properly. In the dim light of the moon and the fireflies he could barely make out his tired face but once he saw the way Donghyuck’s eyes threatened to close he got up with a groan and stretched.

“Well, I think it would be best if we got back now. You seem very tired.”

Donghyuck agreed and they packed the blanket into the basket again before descending from the hill carefully. For some reason Donghyuck hadn’t brought any light sources so they had to rely on their good vision, the fireflies and the moon. Going through the forest at night had a different feeling than during the day when everything was clear to see and you didn’t get scared by a bunny jumping out of a bush.

They arrived at the castle unscathed, bid the guards a good night and continued on to the kitchen to put everything from the basket back to where it belonged, including the basket. Then they went back to Mark’s room and Mark knocked on the door of Johnny’s room that was right next to his gently and whispered “We’re back,” into the darkness, only getting a groan in return. Donghyuck giggled as Mark closed the door again and followed him into his room.

Normally they would say good night to each other at the door but Mark didn’t complain about Donghyuck’s random decision to stay with him for now. Donghyuck said it was because he wanted to actually see if he went to sleep since Johnny couldn’t do that now. Mark snorted and got dressed in his sleeping clothes while softly talking with Donghyuck. They theorized about what Jihyun might have planned and whether Mark would be more stunned than when he had seen the fireflies. Both of them doubted it.

Mark climbed into his bed and snuggled into the blankets. He was tired but his eyes didn’t want to close. Next to his bed Donghyuck was almost falling asleep while sitting on a chair.

“Hyuck, do you want to sleep with me?”

Donghyuck startled awake at Mark’s sudden words and looked at him with surprise evident all over his face. Mark blushed as he realised what Donghyuck probably thought he was asking.

“I mean literally sleep, oh my god. You look like you’d fall over before you’d reach your bed if you left now.”

Donghyuck hummed again and, with little hesitation, took Mark’s other pair of sleeping clothes and dressing himself in them before climbing into Mark’s bed on the other side. Mark chuckled and didn’t ask why he didn’t even try to refuse him. He guessed Donghyuck considered them good enough friends to not let their difference in status come between them.

It seemed like Donghyuck was already asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow but Mark didn’t even try. He knew it would not get him anywhere to lie in his bed with his eyes closed and mind racing so he just looked at Donghyuck. The boy looked different when his face was all relaxed. Even though he wasn’t smiling he still somehow seemed happy, his eyelids fluttering softly and his hair splayed out over the pillow. Just as Mark sighed and decided to give closing his eyes a try Donghyuck’s eyes snapped open and Mark let out an undignified squeal before almost falling off the bed.

Donghyuck giggled and shuffled closer, pulling Mark off of the edge with a hand on his arm, saving him from falling down.

“Why aren’t you asleep yet Mark?” he asked, hand slowly caressing Mark’s arm. Mark didn’t know why but all he could think about was how warm the other was.

“Come on now, you really have to sleep. Is there any way I could help?”

Mark shrugged and thought about what could actually get him to sleep. Getting knocked out wasn’t an option he wanted to present Donghyuck with so he racked his brain, trying to remember how he used to fall asleep so easily. Finally, he got an idea, remembering his mother on the side of his bed when he had been younger.

“You could sing for me,” he said, looking into Donghyuck’s eyes, worried he’d reject him for whatever reason. However, the only thing that happened was Donghyuck smiling even wider and shuffling even closer.

“Okay. I’ll sing for you. Close your eyes.”

Mark did as told and heard Donghyuck slowly breathe in before he began to sing. His voice was beautiful to say the least. All the times Mark had heard Donghyuck hum he had imagined what he would sound like when he was really singing. His imagination didn’t even come close to reality.

Slowly but surely he could feel himself slipping, growing tired and as he relaxed entirely Donghyuck’s voice carried him into the land of the sweetest dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been more than a month but I'm back! I'm sorry it took so long but I prefer to write only when I'm actually inspired but school kind of sucks all the inspiration out of me so all my updates might take so long. 
> 
> Anyways, Mark and Hyuck went on a cute little date that wasn't a date and I kind of liked the idea of Mark never having seen fireflies before.  
> I wonder what Jihyun has in store for them tomorrow? ;)


	9. Dance Break

Donghyuck woke up to someone giggling and a warmth in his arms. The giggling didn’t even sound like one person. There were at least three people and Donghyuck was a bit curious as to who it was and why they were giggling in the first place. However, he didn’t open his eyes to see what the commotion was about as he was feeling very warm and relaxed. The bed he was lying on was definitely not his own since it was way too soft and Donghyuck wondered where he fell asleep when the warmth in his arm shifted.

Mark.

Oh shit.

Donghyuck jolted awake and away from Mark, resulting in him slamming his head against a bedpost and yelping at the pain. The giggles stopped and as Mark blearily, confusedly blinked at him Jihyun entered Donghyuck’s field of vision.

“God, Donghyuck, are you okay?” she asked, worry obviously showing as she carefully felt for any injuries on the back of his head. Donghyuck only nodded slowly, mind racing as he was trying to remember why the hell he would go to sleep with Mark in the same bed. Sure, they were friends but Mark was still a prince and Donghyuck a servant. Someone could have walked in on them and spread rumours and those would definitely not only affect the both of them but the royal families as well. God, what had made it seem okay to accept Mark’s offer?

Donghyuck knew. Of course he knew. It hadn’t been a decision he had made because he had thought about it before. Originally he had wanted to either just sleep on the chair or crash in Jeno’s bed since it was closer than his own but when Mark had asked him to stay with that look on his face he hadn’t been able to say no. Mark had looked so hopeful, a sincere concern on his face and Donghyuck hadn’t wanted to refuse someone as nice as him.

Now that Donghyuck wasn’t only half awake anymore he wanted to hit himself. Why had he reacted like that to waking up with him? It’s not like they would face any real consequences unless maybe Queen Choonhee or King Taeil walked in on them. Which was a very unlikely occurrence.

Jihyun waved her hand in front of Donghyuck’s face and he snapped back to reality.

“Sorry, did you say something?”

The princess shook her head, fondly smiling, and stood up from where she had been crouched down. Donghyuck looked around the room. Besides Jihyun stood Ten, Eunha and Johnny, all three of them still looking worried. Next to Donghyuck Mark sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“What are you doing here? Is it already time for breakfast?” Mark asked and yawned, stretching out his arms. Jihyun shook her head again, a slight grin forming on her face. Donghyuck did not have a good feeling about this.

“It’s way past breakfast, Mark. You guys slept so peacefully and apparently Johnny didn’t want to wake you up because you came back in the middle of the night and you really need your sleep.”

Donghyuck huffed out a little unbelieving laugh and Mark made a face. Eunha stepped forward and put a hand on Mark’s shoulder, looking him into his eyes unblinking. Mark’s eyes widened and his eyebrows rose. Donghyuck thought it looked kind of cute. The noble girl tilted her head and said, in a quiet but still powerful voice, “We let you sleep in but we have an arrangement today and we’re supposed to be back at the castle by sundown so if you guys could get going that would be very much appreciated. Dress in comfortable clothing, you’ll have to move around a lot.”

After that she just got up and left, the other three following her after grinning at Mark and Donghyuck one last time. The two of them sat in silence for a bit, just blinking at each other. Then Mark cracked a smile and they broke down in giggles.

“God, what a way to wake up,” Mark giggled, clutching at his stomach. “We probably should get dressed now though. I don’t think they’ll wait for us much longer.” Mark looked up at Donghyuck again and smiled. Donghyuck felt his heart skip a beat.

“Go on then, I’m sure you don’t want to wear your clothes from yesterday. See you later Hyuck.”

Donghyuck got up and dressed himself faster than ever before in his life. He stepped towards the door and put his hand on the handle before turning around again to look at Mark.

“See you later.”

¤¤¤

Jihyun and Eunha refused to tell Mark and Donghyuck were they were going but apparently they needed carriages to get there and when they reached the town Mark was more focused on admiring the outside than asking questions. Donghyuck watched his eyes basically sparkle at the sight of the little stores and decorations and promptly decided to take him to explore the town the next day. It took Donghyuck embarrassingly long to figure out where they were going but when he spotted Yuta’s house he finally got it.

They were going to visit the dance instructor and were probably going to learn a bit themselves. Donghyuck really liked Yuta. He was kind and energetic and he did whatever he wanted to. Yuta didn’t just teach classic dance like the waltz or the basse dance he taught in the castle. He also had dance classes for commoners, teaching them how to move their body to the music without any fixed steps in mind. Donghyuck admired him for his mind and his attitude of not leaving out anyone for anything.

When they arrived at Yuta’s dance studio and stepped out of the carriage Yuta was already waiting for them with a wide grin and open arms.

“My little princess! Eunha! My favourite guard and my favourite servant!”

The four of them laughed as Yuta smothered them with affection, lots of hugs and cheek kisses while Johnny and Mark stood there awkwardly, not sure of what to do. Yuta turned to look at them and gave them a once over.

“So you are Johnny and Minhyung,” he beamed as he held out his hand for them to shake, “I’ve heard a lot about you two. Well, why don’t we go inside? If we keep standing here the time will have passed without any of you learning anything.”

They nodded and followed Yuta inside, Johnny and Mark gaping at the pictures on the walls and the big mirrors in every practice room they passed. Donghyuck supposed they didn’t have anyone like Yuta back home. Not that there would ever be anyone like Yuta.

Yuta led them to the biggest practice room he had and promptly got them to stretch and show off their skills, getting Johnny and Ten to participate too. Mark was surprisingly agile, being able to do the splits with what seemed like ease and laughing at Donghyuck when he tried as well. When they started dancing it became apparent that Mark had a talent for it. His moves were smooth and nice to look at, even without any music playing. They danced freely for a bit before practicing formal dances and when all of them were too exhausted to continue without a break Yuta told them to rest for a bit and that he would be back soon before leaving them in the practice room. All of them grabbed their glasses of water and almost downed them in one go before falling down to the floor. Johnny and Ten who were the least sweaty for some reason excused themselves, earning raised eyebrows from all of them. Jihyun and Eunha flocked together on one side of the room and since it seemed like they wanted to be alone in their own little personal bubble Mark and Donghyuck moved to sit at the wall to their right.

“Why do you think they took us here?” Mark asked, tilting his head and looking at Donghyuck before wiping the sweat on his face away. Donghyuck shrugged and leaned his head against he wall, looking at the ceiling. He wasn’t entirely sure but he thought maybe Jihyun wanted Mark to get to know more people and see a bit of the life outside of the castle. Give him a bit of a taste of fun. And Yuta definitely was fun.

“Maybe they wanted you to loose some weight by dancing- Ow!”

Donghyuck pouted as Mark lightly slapped his arm again. Mark shook his head and took another sip of his water just to frown and stare into the glass. They didn’t have any water left. Mark sighed and got up, looking over at Jihyun and Eunha who were leaning against each other and Donghyuck who slid down the wall and sprawled out on the floor.

“I’m going to go look for Yuta and ask for more water, okay?”

Donghyuck nodded and Mark smiled at him before stepping out of the room and slowly closing the door behind him. Jihyun and Eunha looked at the door for a bit before beginning to talk to each other in hushed voices. Donghyuck was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to hear what they were saying but he had good ears and was honestly a bit curious as it seemed like they couldn’t talk about if Mark was in the room.

Jihyun heaved a big sigh and took Eunha’s hand in hers, playing with her fingers before mumbling, “Hyunjae can’t keep trying to sway Mother.”

Hyunjae? Queen Hyunjae? What did Mark’s mother have to do with Jihyun and Queen Choonhee? What did she want to sway her about? Donghyuck strained his ears even more. He couldn’t not listen in now.

Eunha rubbed comforting patterns on Jihyun’s hand and frowned.

“Is it not… working at all?”

“No.” Jihyun sighed and leaned her head on Eunha’s shoulder, making it harder to understand her. “Mother came to me this morning to ask me whether I set her up to do it. Of course I told her I didn’t which wasn’t a lie but she still said that I’m not going to get out of this.”

Eunha lifted the hand that wasn’t occupied with Jihyun’s to pet her girlfriend’s head. The both of them were silent for a while before Eunha spoke up again.

“Did she really say that?”

Jihyun shook her head.

“No but that was what she meant.”

“But- I mean- she can’t not have considered it. You’re her daughter!”

At that Jihyun righted herself again. Donghyuck couldn’t see it clearly because he was too far away but it looked like her eyes were glistening. At this point he was confused as to what exactly they were talking about. It had been confusing before but now it was just downright maddening to not know what was going on. What did Queen Hyunjae and Queen Choonhee have to do with each other?

Jihyun rubbed furiously at her eyes and clenched her jaw before she spoke up with a drained voice, “Do you think I don’t know that? Hell, I thought it was a heat in the moment decision and that she wouldn’t actually go as far as to marry me off yet here we are.” She huffed a dry laugh. “Mother doesn’t _care_ , Eunha. She’s done it now and she’s not going to take it back.”

Eunha drew her eyebrows together. Oh, Donghyuck didn’t like were this was going.

“But can’t you-“

The door opened and Mark stepped inside, a jar of water in his hand and someone behind him. Eunha cut herself off immediately, clenching her jaw and instead opting to pull the slightly trembling Jihyun into an embrace, allowing the princess to bury her face in her girlfriend’s neck.

It became awfully quiet for a second before the person behind Mark exclaimed, “Donghyuck! I haven’t seen you in so long!”

It turned out the person behind Mark was Yukhei, Yuta’s apprentice of sorts. Donghyuck and him had become friends when Yukhei had been to the castle for the first time and had promptly gotten lost. Back then Donghyuck had helped him find Yuta and since they were both very outgoing it was an easy match. Now they didn’t see each other that often anymore since both of them were busy working.

So Donghyuck and Yukhei caught up with each others lives, Donghyuck promptly forgetting Jihyun and Eunha’s conversation for the time being. Mark chimed in from time to time too, the girls joining them a while later and when Yuta returned with food all five of them were in a heated discussion about the name of the dragonfly.

¤¤¤

“Goodnight then Mark. Night Johnny.”

Johnny gave Donghyuck a mock salute as he turned around and Donghyuck rolled his eyes good-naturedly. They had come back just before the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the mountains, having spent a lot of time having fun with Yukhei and now they parted their ways for the day. Donghyuck made his way to his quarters, got changed and fell down on his bed. He had forgotten about Jihyun and Eunha’s conversation they had had earlier that day but as soon as he closed his eyes he could hear them again.

From what he had gathered they had been talking about Queen Choonhee’s decision to marry Jihyun off but what did Queen Hyunjae have to do with that? What did Jihyun say about her swaying her mother? Sway her to do what? Call off the engagement?

Donghyuck sighed as he dug the heels of his hands into his closed eyes until he saw the colours dancing. It seemed like Jihyun was way more affected by her mother’s decision than she had let on. He had thought she was okay as long as it was Mark and she could still see Eunha but apparently he was wrong. Of course she wouldn’t want to be married off to anyone no matter if it was her best friend or not. Now that Donghyuck thought about it, Mark being Jihyun’s best friend was probably also a factor for her not wanting to do it. She knew what he was like and she probably knew what his happiness looked like. From what Donghyuck could tell Mark wouldn’t get married to anyone if it was up to him.

Sighing again Donghyuck got up from his bed and walked over to Jaemin’s room. Donghyuck wasn’t involved in Jihyun, Mark and Eunha’s situation but thinking about it made him feel down for whatever reason. And whenever he felt down he went to get comforted by Jaemin. Donghyuck gently knocked on the door before opening it and stepping into the room without waiting for an answer. On one bed sat Renjun, reading something under the light of a lamp and on the other was supposed to be Jaemin but Donghyuck couldn’t see him. He turned to look at Renjun. They nodded at each other as a greeting before Donghyuck asked, “Where’s Jaemin?”

Renjun looked over at Jaemin’s bed and shrugged. “He went to see Jeno a while ago so I’m assuming they’re together still.”

Donghyuck hummed and sat down on Jaemin’s bed. Jeno and he hadn’t ever met after sundown as far as Donghyuck was concerned. Maybe they were finally getting their shit together.

“Hey, Renjun?”

Renjun looked up from his book again and raised an eyebrow.

“Can I hug you?”

At that Renjun let out a huff but he scooted over anyways. Donghyuck assumed that meant he could so he got up from Jaemin’s bed and laid down next to Renjun, putting his head on his chest and an arm over his waist. Renjun continued reading, one arm around Donghyuck’s shoulders. It was a bit weird for Donghyuck to be this close to him considering they had talked for the first time the day before but he wasn’t going to go search for Jaemin if he was with Jeno and he definitely wasn’t going to hug Mark in the middle of the night without a very valid reason.

“You’re awfully okay with a practical stranger snuggling up to you,” Donghyuck whispered as his eyes slipped shut, the exhaustion from dancing so much earlier finally catching up to him. Renjun huffed again.

“You’re not the only one coming to me for nightly cuddles.”

“Mh. At least Mark is nice to cuddle.”

“Sure Donghyuck, if you say so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are so many words in this chapter and yet I feel like nothing really happened except for Jihyun and Eunha's conversation :(
> 
> I mean this is important for later and i like the chapter well enough but for some reason i still feel like there's something missing. There isn't. I'm just stupid. Anyways, next chapter there won't be any of that conspiracy stuff just fluff and cute boys being cute so hopefully that'll be more fun to read :)


	10. Mark Them in Your Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter was longer than I expected it to get. Like, I knew it was going to be longer but not this long. I actually added more to this chapter than I had originally planned so it's understandable I guess. Also, I finally almost know how many chapters this is going to have but for me to know for sure (at least until I change something on impulse again) you'll have to answer my question in my end notes. 
> 
> Since this chapter is long but I can't read over my works more than once a day and I wanted to give this chapter to you as soon as possible if you find any mistakes do inform me.

Mark lay awake on his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about what he felt for Donghyuck. Last night Mark had fallen into his bed, exhausted from all the dancing but he had felt his bed to be emptier than he was used to. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out what he had been missing. The answer had been startlingly clear.

Donghyuck. Mark had been missing Donghyuck. Had been missing the weight and the warmth beside him and, of course, Donghyuck’s voice. Mark had resorted to imagining Donghyuck next to him, had imagined the soft look and his sunny demeanour. He’d closed his eyes and imagined Donghyuck next to him again, singing him to sleep softly. Mark didn’t know how long he had actually needed to fall asleep but he had fallen asleep nonetheless which was an achievement in and of itself.

When he’d woken up at sunrise, the sun shining through his window since Mark had forgotten to close the curtains, his first thought had been ‘ _I like Donghyuck.’_

It hadn’t been a particularly big revelation. Mark had always felt warmer around Donghyuck than he had around any of his other friends. Hell, he’d basically been enamoured with the boy since Jihyun had first mentioned him in her letter. Mark didn’t know exactly when his feelings changed from ones of pure adoration, admiration and friendship to something much more but he supposed it had been a long time coming. They hadn’t known each other for long but Mark couldn’t help but feel like time really didn’t matter in this instance.

And so Mark found himself counting the spots on the ceiling while simultaneously thinking about every part of Donghyuck that made Mark’s heart stop. If he was being honest everything about Donghyuck was precious to Mark. From the way he defended his friends in spite of jabbing at them every so often to the way his face lit up when he laughed everything set free every single butterfly to ever exist in Mark’s stomach. Mark found he could wax poetic about Donghyuck for hours, found he could’ve done that even before he had realized his feelings.

Just as Mark turned to squint at the sunrays infiltrating his room and coming up with a thousand metaphors comparing Donghyuck to the sun the door to his room creaked open. Mark abruptly sat up, hand inching closer to the sword at the nightstand next to his bed. He knew for a fact that it wasn’t Johnny coming to wake him up because he had long given up on that, instead just opting to inform him when it was time for breakfast. Considering this, there were three options. Either Donghyuck had come to see him but Mark couldn’t fathom why so he was pretty sure that wasn’t it or his mother had come to see him which was more likely or it was someone coming to assassinate him even though that would not make sense because of several reasons. Mark still kept his hand close to his sword, just to be sure.

“Rise and shine, love. I know you’re awake anyways.”

Mark huffed a laugh and retracted his hand, instead swinging his legs out of bed just as his mother entered his field of view. She was already all dressed up and pretty. Her hair was in some complicated looking braid and she was wearing a dark green dress, one Mark knew to be her favourite. And because of that she only wore it when she didn’t feel good, hoping to get energy from wearing her favourite dress. Mark immediately straightened.

“Is everything alright Mom? Did something happen?” he asked as his mother walked up to him and swiftly engulfed him in a hug. He hugged her back, resting his cheek against the side of her head. Mark had always been grateful for his mother to not be as distant as other parents were. When Taeyong and he had been younger she had played with them whenever she could and since she was very affectionate she’d seek physical contact with them at every opportunity that arose. She had given them a safe space not a lot of other royal children had. Even Jihyun didn’t have the luxury of seeking comfort in her parents, she even had to call her parents by ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’. Mark almost shuddered at the thought of having to be so distant from his mother.

She was silent for a while before moving her hand up and down Mark’s back, signalling him that they could separate now. He stepped back and looked down at her worriedly. “I’m alright Mark, you don’t have to worry about me,” his mother said, smiling. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m going to leave the day after tomorrow and I’d like to spend tomorrow with you. We’ve barely even seen each other these past few weeks.” She pouted. “You were always out with that pretty servant boy. What did Jihyun say his name was? Donghyuck?” Mark nodded, confused as to why his mother had even asked for his name. “He’s very cute so you better not miss your chance.”

Mark sputtered, feeling his face heat up and hid behind his hands. “Oh my god Mom! You can’t just say that!” he exclaimed but his mother just laughed.

“Really though, we haven’t seen each other if it wasn’t at meals. I’m glad you’re getting to know the area and everything but I’d like to spend a day with my son before not seeing him for a while.”

Mark nodded and smiled before kissing his mother on the forehead. Since his mother was returning home to sort out the issue of both her and Taeyong having to leave the Queendom for the wedding they wouldn’t be seeing each other for at least a week. Taeyong would come instead of her, basically to not leave Mark alone for too long in an ‘unknown’ castle.

Neither of them said anything after that, just basking in each others presence and enjoying the silence of the golden morning hours. Outside of Mark’s room the castle slowly began bustling with life, the servants running about to fulfil whatever was asked of them. Just when Mark wondered when Donghyuck would fling his door open exactly that happened as Donghyuck stormed into Mark’s room with a bright “Up and at ‘em lazy daisy! We haven’t got all day.”

Donghyuck startled as his eyes fell onto Mark’s mother and Mark had to hide a chuckle behind his hand as the younger boy immediately bowed deeper than Mark had ever seen him do it before.

“Your Majesty,” Donghyuck said, voice way too stable for the way his hands were trembling, “pardon the intrusion.” He paused before adding, as if it was an afterthought, “And the inappropriate greeting.”

Mark’s mother just laughed quietly, shook her head and tapped Donghyuck’s chin, prompting him to look up at her.

“It’s alright Donghyuck.” She smiled at him. “I’m glad Mark has found a friend in you. He’s stopped trying to make friends ever since he exceeded the limit of three.” Mark made an affronted noise but his mother just continued on. “He’s been out of the library more these past few weeks than he’s been in it so I’m grateful to you. Take good care of him, will you?”

Donghyuck nodded slowly, dumbfounded, and both him and Mark watched as Mark’s mother marched out of the room without sparing either of them another glance.

They stood in silence for longer than Mark was used to with Donghyuck but then the younger let out a huff and blinked rapidly as he turned to face Mark.

“I knew your mom was more relaxed than Queen Choonhee but I didn’t think she’d be _this_ cool with some servant bursting into her son’s room and being informal as- wait a second. How did she know my name?”

Donghyuck tilted his head as he shook it the tiniest bit, slightly making him look like a wet dog. Mark stifled a coo and shrugged before replying “Apparently Jihyun told her. I don’t really know when or why but I guess she was interested enough in you to remember your name.”

Donghyuck raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms but as fast as the scowling face came it disappeared as Donghyuck seemed to remember why he had barged into Mark’s room in the first place. His eyes lit up like when he’s excited and Mark felt his heart flutter with glee. Donghyuck was always fifteen times prettier when his eyes sparkled like that. And that said a lot, especially since Donghyuck was already naturally gorgeous.

“Today we’re going to go and explore the town and you’re not allowed to say no. I’m going to force all of our friends to come with us because we haven’t hung out together since I’ve started showing you around. Besides, Renjun and Chenle probably haven’t seen the town yet either so that’s a plus.

“I don’t know what happened with Jeno and Jaemin yesterday but I sure as hell hope they finally confessed because I can’t stand seeing more of that pining. And if they didn’t it would probably be awkward as shit between them. Anyways, I invited Renjun already and he said yes so that’s one. You don’t have a choice and Johnny’s there by default. I’m going to invite Jihyun and Eunha too just because I want the two of them to have a nice date and Johnny and Ten can have one too I guess.

“So that leaves us with Jisung and Chenle since where Jisung goes Jaemin goes and where Jaemin goes Jeno goes. Jisung doesn’t have a choice either, because I already asked Sicheng for permission and he said yes so sucks for Jisung I guess. And Chenle seems like a bright boy so he’s not going to say no.”

Mark had a hard time following all of that but Donghyuck seemed so bright and happy he couldn’t bring himself to ask him to slow down. He was sure he heard the name Sicheng in there somewhere and if he wasn’t wrong Sicheng was the head herbalist of the castle. Mark kept smiling at Donghyuck until he finally comprehended everything the other had rambled about and asked, a bit confused, “Wait, when did you ask Renjun? Did you go to the kitchen before you came here or something? And what do you mean you don’t care what happened with Jeno and Jaemin, is something wrong?”

Donghyuck shook his head and giggled quietly like he thought of something funny. Mark raised his eyebrows slightly and cocked his head. He couldn’t fathom why Donghyuck would think of his questions as funny but he supposed worse things existed in the world. Donghyuck lightly hit Mark on the arm and then let his hand linger there a little before pulling it back and blushing slightly. _Pretty_ , was all Mark could think.

“I went to cuddle with Jaemin yesterday but he wasn’t there. Renjun said he was with Jeno.” It was only then that Mark remembered that Renjun and Jaemin were roommates. “So I asked Renjun if I could cuddle with him and he said yes and so we bonded because when you cuddle someone overnight you’re immediately considered best friends for life so-“

“Wait, so does that mean we’re best friends for life now too?” Mark cut Donghyuck off and the younger froze before one of his hands came up to card through his hair. Donghyuck moved his head a tiny bit in a hesitant nod and Mark grinned brightly before slinging his arm around Donghyuck’s shoulders and bumping into his side.

“Don’t get too smug now Mark. I’ll steal Renjun away from you if you continue to behave like this,” Donghyuck grumbled but didn’t make a move to get Mark off of him. Mark just laughed and nuzzled his head against Donghyuck’s. He was glad he was still able to act normally around Donghyuck since Mark didn’t have a very long list of past crushes and the crushes he had had hadn’t ever hit as hard as this one.

Donghyuck continued to grumble something under his breath and Mark continued to affectionately ruffle his hair until Johnny walked in. The older man only raised an eyebrow at the two and gave them a once over before snorting and shaking his head, telling Mark that it was time for breakfast. Mark released Donghyuck and fell in step with Johnny. It didn’t take long for Donghyuck to catch up to them and hanging off of Johnny’s arm. The older man only looked down at Donghyuck with an affectionate glint in his eye and Mark felt kind of proud of Donghyuck for being so lovable.

“Hey hey Johnny, we’re going out to explore the town today and you don’t have a choice but to accompany us and have fun because I’m going to ask the princess too. And you know who’s always with the princess.”

Donghyuck wiggled his eyebrows at Johnny and Johnny rolled his eyes but his lips were curled into a small smile.

They arrived not much later. Donghyuck and Johnny had fallen a step behind Mark as it wasn’t exactly usual for servants to walk beside royalty. Jihyun shot a knowing smile at Mark as he sat down in front of her and his mother pinched his cheeks. Mark almost rolled his eyes but remembered in time that both Choonhee and Taeil were also present and stopped himself before anything bad could happen.

As most days the adults were engaging in some small talk as Mark and Jihyun silently ate whatever was presented to them. Mark didn’t eat a lot but as he felt Johnny basically burn a hole into Mark’s back with his stare he forced himself to at least finish everything on the first plate. When he was done he sat back and watched Jihyun in front of him. She was eating slowly and deliberately small bites like it was expected of a princess. Mark sighed and leaned forward, tapping the table to get Jihyun’s attention. She looked up at him with surprise evident in her eyes, most likely because he had tried to pretend they were anything but friends, making as little conversation with her as possible.

“I’m going to the town today. Would you like to accompany me princess?” Mark asked. He had decided to make it easier for Donghyuck and save them some time. He’d tell Jihyun later to ask Eunha to join them too.

Jihyun nodded, a small smile finding its place on her face and behind him Mark could almost hear Donghyuck sigh with relief. Ten, who was standing behind Jihyun like he always did, grinned over Mark’s head. Mark assumed that’s were Johnny stood. Again he almost rolled his eyes but caught himself in time. Jihyun hid behind her hand and tried to cover her laugh with a fake cough but Mark knew her too well to buy it. He kicked her foot under the table since it was too wide for him to reach her leg but it did what it was supposed to and Jihyun glared at him before realizing that their parents were watching them. She softened her eyes but kicked Mark under the table as well.

Choonhee clapped her hands, widely smiling. If Mark was honest she looked almost as beautiful as his mother but he couldn’t help but associate her with unjust parenting.

“I’m glad you’re finally getting along more,” she exclaimed and cast a glance at both Taeil and Mark’s mother before continuing on, “I actually want to tell you now that we’ve set the wedding to be in one month.”

Mark could basically feel the atmosphere change from light and friendly to something worse. Something heavy, unbearable and suffocating. He chanced a look at Jihyun’s face and immediately wanted to save her from this. From everything. Jihyun’s face was pale. So pale in fact, that she almost looked sick. Behind her Ten had his brows furrowed in the most serious scowl Mark had ever seen him wear. Mark’s mother and Taeil looked a bit shocked too and Taeil put a hand on his wife’s shoulder.

“What are you talking about Choonhee? Why haven’t I heard anything about this?” he asked and Mark sucked in a breath. Not even Taeil knew what was going on here and he was the goddamn king. Choonhee must really, really want that wedding to happen.

Choonhee smiled at Taeil and patted his hand. “It was decided this morning. I’m already preparing to send out invitations to our allies. I’m glad it’s finally moving along since I’ve waited quite long already.”

Mark scoffed quietly. _I’ve waited quite long_. Of course she would word it like that. Everyone else had been dreading it. No one said anything after that and Jihyun looked like she was seconds away from breaking down. Mark put both of his hands on the table and stood by pushing himself up. He didn’t feel like he would have been able to get up otherwise.

“Well, if you’ll excuse Princess Jihyun and me, we’ve got important matters to attend to,” he said through gritted teeth and cast another glance at Jihyun hurriedly getting up as well before walking out of the room without waiting for confirmation from the adults. Johnny, Donghyuck and Ten followed silently. As soon as they were out Jihyun gripped Ten’s hand tightly and walked to her chambers. Mark didn’t want to leave her alone now and followed right behind them, as did Johnny and Donghyuck.

Jihyun basically threw open the door to her chambers and let go of Ten’s hand, instead throwing herself into Mark’s arms and letting out the tears she’d been holding at bay. Mark embraced her tightly and closed his eyes while mumbling under his breath and patting Jihyun’s head. He himself didn’t know what he was saying. They were just words strung together, meant to soothe both Jihyun and Mark. He may not have been as affected by this as Jihyun was, his mother didn’t try to marry him off, but he still didn’t like to see his best friend so sad. And especially since he kind of was part of the problem he couldn’t let her be like this.

Slowly he manoeuvred his arms around Jihyun so that he could pick her up and carry her to her bed. She kept her face buried in Mark’s neck but her cries had died down and she was left hiccupping and clinging onto Mark. Mark laid them both down. They couldn’t separate now.

Mark didn’t know how much time had passed when Jihyun finally calmed down enough to breathe deeply and slightly detach herself from him. Jihyun’s eyes and cheeks were red and her nose runny. Her hair was a mess and Mark immediately hugged her again.

“Sorry,” Jihyun mumbled into his chest and Mark knew she wanted to continue but he shook his head vehemently.

“You have nothing to be sorry about Jihyun. I understand why you reacted like that. You’ve always been sensitive and your mother marrying you off to someone, even if it’s your best friend, and being very very happy about it isn’t exactly ideal. Look, I’m just glad she asked us and not some dumbasses like the Han family. Their son is a dick.”

Jihyun let out a choked chuckle and Mark smiled into her hair. He was glad she wasn’t completely broken down by now.

The door slammed open and both Mark and Jihyun raised their heads to see who was intruding on their moment. As soon as they spotted Eunha running towards them they both sat up but Eunha tackled Jihyun right back into the bed.

“God, can’t you spend a day without worrying me?” she scolded but her face was buried in the crook of Jihyun’s neck and her shoulders were shaking. “Can’t you give those poor servants who have to tell me you’re on the verge of crying again a break? God, Donghyuck looked like he was going to cry too, you know?”

Mark jumped up at that. Donghyuck had looked like he was going to cry? He frantically looked around, pretty sure that Ten, Johnny and Donghyuck had all been in the room when Jihyun had hugged him. Now though none of them were there and he slowly got up from the bed, hesitantly looking back at Jihyun and Eunha. They were now so tightly entangled that he couldn’t tell were one began and the other ended.

“I’m going to look for Hyuck,” he whispered and when he saw two heads nodding he quickly made his way out of the room, ready to search the whole castle for Donghyuck. He didn’t have to search at all however as Donghyuck stood with both Ten and Johnny hanging from his sides. He looked a bit hot between their bodies, his cheeks flushed a cute pink but his eyes were dry and he was even smiling a little. Mark stepped towards them and as Donghyuck’s eyes landed on him the smile fell from his face. Briefly Mark wondered if Donghyuck was disappointed in Mark for leaving Jihyun and Eunha but that worry was quickly erased as the younger asked, “Are Jihyun and Eunha okay? I would’ve helped but it looked like she didn’t need any of us so I went looking for Eunha.”

Mark only nodded and stepped even closer. Johnny and Ten removed themselves from Donghyuck and so Mark put a hand on Donghyuck’s cheeks and caressed it with his thumb. Now that Mark was looking at the younger from a closer proximity he could see the slight redness he had in his eyes too. Mark sighed and gently enveloped Donghyuck in a hug, disregarding everything around them and that princes shouldn’t hug servants that openly. Donghyuck immediately hugged back, winding his arms around Mark’s shoulders.

“Are _you_ okay?” he asked softly and Donghyuck nodded but tightened his grip and Mark’s shoulder felt a bit more wet than it had before. Mark took a few deep breaths and Donghyuck followed him before letting go. “Thank you,” he said and squeezed Mark’s hand, briefly and barely there, before stepping back slightly. Mark smiled at Donghyuck and got a twitch of the younger’s lips in response.

“I think they’ve calmed down a bit now. Should we go in and convince Jihyun that she needs to come with us to town now more than ever because it’ll only benefit her now?”

Donghyuck grinned at that and nodded, glancing at Johnny and Ten next to them.

“You wanna do the honours?”

¤¤¤

They were on their way to Jisung’s chambers after basically forcing Jihyun to still agree to go out. Eunha had agreed immediately, saying they needed the fresh air and the nice townspeople. Mark couldn’t have agreed more so Jihyun had reluctantly conceded. Then they had embarked on the quest to get Jisung to come with them. Well, Mark, Donghyuck and Johnny had. Jihyun and Eunha had said they’d meet them at the main gate in an hour because Jihyun didn’t look presentable and Eunha’s hair was ruffled. Ten had stayed behind as he was still Jihyun’s personal guard and her friend and he couldn’t just not make sure she really was okay.

Donghyuck entered Jisung’s room without knocking and so abruptly stopped walking that Mark bumped into him. Donghyuck didn’t react in any way, just continued staring into the room. Curious as to what had rendered Donghyuck speechless he peeked over his shoulder only to find Jisung on the ground with Chenle and Jaemin lying on top of him and Jeno smiling fondly at them from the corner.

“What the hell is going on here?” Donghyuck asked, bewildered, finally finding his voice again.

Jisung looked up from under the two boys on top of him and pleaded, “Hyuck save me! They’re going to crush me and Jeno isn’t doing anything to help. They’re all going to be murderers!”

Donghyuck only huffed out an unbelieving laugh and finally continued on into the room, settling next to Jeno. Mark however had mercy on Jisung, pulling a protesting Jaemin and a squealing Chenle off of him. He proceeded to scold them on not respecting Jisung’s personal space and wishes because even though he’d only met the boy once he had already grown on him.

Chenle pouted and Jaemin groaned while crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

“You’re like a mom, oh my god.”

Mark scoffed but Jeno and Donghyuck burst into laughter. Johnny and Chenle joined in not much later. Traitors.

Now Mark crossed his arms as well and watched in disbelief as Chenle wandered over to Jisung again who had rightened himself and promptly wound his arms around the boy. Jisung glanced at Chenle but didn’t make a move or say anything. Mark gaped and Jaemin pouted, letting out a whine. “Do you see this injustice?” he complained, “He let’s Chenle hug him but not me.”

Donghyuck snorted and turned to look at Jaemin.

“That’s because Chenle’s cute.”

Jaemin let out an offended gasp and turned to launch at Donghyuck but Jeno put a hand on his arm and gave him the softest eyes. Like a switch was flipped inside him Jaemin calmed down and snuggled up to Jeno instead. Donghyuck narrowed his eyes at them but didn’t say anything. Mark could hardly believe he’d been crying just a few minutes earlier. He subconsciously let out a sigh and let his shoulders slump. Getting married to Jihyun so soon really didn’t sit well with him but he had to be strong for everyone around him. They couldn’t all be crying messes.

After Donghyuck got over his suspicions with Jeno and Jaemin he told them why they were here, shutting a protesting Jisung up by mentioning Sicheng and then grinning when Jaemin immediately agreed to coming with. Jeno and Chenle agreed as well though Chenle looked at Donghyuck with questioning eyes before letting go of Jisung and trudging over to him. Donghyuck raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything when Chenle pulled him out of the room.

The remaining boys looked at each other but neither of them knew what was happening so they let it go. Jaemin used the lack of Chenle to try and smother Jisung with affection again but the younger boy was having none of it, keeping Jaemin at bay with an outstretched arm.

“Well, you’re definitely a rowdy bunch. Your stories are amusing but not quite as much as experiencing it myself,” Mark heard Johnny say and turned to look at him. Johnny was standing next to Jeno now, smiling down at the boy. Jeno nodded, eye smile in its place and replied, “I wouldn’t have it any other way. It would be so boring otherwise to be honest.”

Johnny nodded sagely and they continued watching Jaemin and Jisung battle with each other. Donghyuck and Chenle entered the room again not much later and Donghyuck clapped his hands, demanding everyone’s attention.

“Alright guys. Now we just have to get Renjun from the kitchen and we’re good to go.”

Jaemin’s eyes widened and he slapped his forehead while groaning. Jisung, unimpressed, poked his side.

“You didn’t think about asking Doyoung if you could go did you?” he asked and Jaemin nodded, looking at Mark and Donghyuck with apologetic eyes.

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know if Doyoung will allow me to come with you.” Jaemin pouted. “He already dislikes me because I’m late so often.”

Donghyuck just laughed and clapped Jaemin on the back, assuring him that it wouldn’t be a problem since they had the princess with them and Doyoung loved her so Jaemin wouldn’t be in trouble. Jaemin still seemed a bit down though so Donghyuck wound his arms around him and continued consoling his friend as they all walked towards the kitchen. Strangely Mark didn’t even feel a tiny bit of jealousy. In any book he read whenever someone’s love interest was close to someone else they were jealous but Mark didn’t feel any of the described feelings at all. He was just happy Donghyuck was happy and he’d do anything for him to keep it that way. It wasn’t like Jaemin was interested in Donghyuck anyways and it would be hypocritical of Mark to not want Donghyuck be close to his friends anyways he reminded himself as Chenle abandoned Jisung in favour of clinging to Mark’s arm and talking his ear off.

¤¤¤

They collected Renjun from the kitchen and Chenle migrated from Mark to him, this time pulling Jisung with him. Jisung looked a bit uncomfortable under Renjun’s scrutinizing eyes but he powered through it and walked beside him with his head held high. When their little group walked up to the main gate there were two carriages already prepared. Jihyun said they could have taken horses but since they’d probably walk around the town a lot it would be a dumb decision. And so they divided their group into two with Jihyun, Eunha, Ten, Mark, Donghyuck and Johnny in one carriage and the rest of the boys in the other.

On their way to the town Mark had asked Donghyuck why Chenle had wanted to speak to him in private and Donghyuck had grinned and said, “He’s got big plans that one. Oh by the way, I’ll stay your manservant for now.”

To say it had confused Mark would be an understatement. Mark had no idea what to make of that but Donghyuck hadn’t divulged more information, instead asking Jihyun if she was okay now. Jihyun had shaken her head and shrugged at the same time. Somehow they still all understood. The rest of the ride was spent in relative silence with Donghyuck humming under his breath and Ten gushing to Johnny about the market with a hushed voice.

When they arrived at the place their carriages would be kept Donghyuck basically jumped out and looked back at Mark with sparkling eyes, begging him to follow him to the fountain. Mark had agreed easily and the rest of the group didn’t seem to have anything against it either so they made their way to what Donghyuck said was the most famous fountain in their kingdom.

Jihyun had agreed and told them the story of a lone traveller, who had never done anything but travel in his life, who had a daughter with a queen. The queen however didn’t want the child so she threw it out and the traveller took her with him. As the girl grew she didn’t want to keep on travelling. She wanted to have a stable life, have friends who didn’t change every week or have friends at all and the traveller loved her so much he gave up what he’d done all his life and loved for longer than he loved the child. He settled down in a tiny village that consisted of only three houses and thus three families. The traveller granted his daughter the wish of constant friends but when she had that she wanted more friends and live somewhere with more than three houses so the traveller made use of the skills he had learned on his journey and slowly but surely build the town up. The more his daughter wished the more he gave to her and when she wished to be a queen he told her of her origin and his daughter, angry at him for never telling her, wished for him to get lost. And so he did. He built an entire town out of nothing and he vanished just like that. The daughter realized her mistake the next day when there was no trace of her father anywhere. And so she build the fountain to have him remembered by everyone who lived in this town. The traveller may have gotten lost but he was never forgotten.

Mark would have lied if he said the story didn’t move him. He couldn’t imagine loosing his mother over something as petty as that and as he looked up at the statue of the traveller on the fountain he couldn’t help but pay him respects. Their group wasn’t silent for long, Chenle shouting about wanting to go to one shop, Jaemin whining at Jeno, wanting to go to another. Ten was already pointing at something and Johnny was nodding. Jihyun and Eunha had adopted Renjun on the way to the fountain and flocked to him like overprotective mother birds. Renjun looked confused but he happily told them he wanted to see what kinds of spices were available on the market.

“Okay guys listen to me for one second!” Donghyuck exclaimed and they all quieted enough for him to be able to lower his voice. “How about we all do what we want to do and get back here when it’s time to dance? You’ve all got someone with you who knows what that means so I hope there won’t be any problems.”

Everyone nodded and, when Donghyuck gave them his okay, disappeared into every possible direction. Mark just shook his head, smiling fondly and tapped Donghyuck’s shoulder.

“So what else did you want to show me?” he asked and Donghyuck’s face lit up. Donghyuck gripped his wrist and marched through the crowd of people on the market. They turned so many corners Mark was surprised Donghyuck still seemed to know exactly were they were. And even if he didn’t, his hand on Mark’s wrist was warm and reassuring and if they got lost at least they were lost together.

Slowly the amount of people lessened and Mark could walk next to Donghyuck without a problem or danger of being separated from him but Donghyuck continued holding onto his wrist. The street they arrived on was not as colourful as the rest of the town but there were a few decorations here and there and at the very end of it Mark could see a bright blob of colour. He wondered what it was and the closer he got the more he could make out the shape of flowers. Donghyuck was bringing him to a flower shop.

The shop wasn’t big but there were many different flowers on display both outside and inside. Mark couldn’t identify every single one of them but a few were familiar like the daffodil or the rose. Donghyuck dragged Mark past the flowers outside and opened the door with a happy, “Where are you Kun? I have a special guest for you today!”

Someone poked their head out from under the counter. It was a boy with light brown hair and a wicked grin on his face. For some reason Mark didn’t believe that was Kun, especially not after Donghyuck shouted “Yangyang!” and let go of Mark to run up to the boy and twirl him around. Yangyang laughed and Donghyuck echoed the sound before letting him down again. Mark just stood there and watched the scene unfold. Donghyuck and Yangyang looked so bright and happy and excited Mark didn’t have the heart to interrupt them and ask what was happening.

“I haven’t seen you in so long. Honestly, I never should’ve agreed going with Dej and Kunhang because I didn’t learn _anything_ but I didn’t want to be the only one left, you know how it is. I’m so happy to be back though.” Yangyang grinned and put a hand on his chest right above his heart. “And I’m so glad Kun didn’t replace me. My poor heart couldn’t have taken it after the wasted year.”

Donghyuck laughed again and patted Yangyang’s shoulder before turning to Mark and beckoning him closer with a finger. Mark complied and was met with the curious eyes of Yangyang. Donghyuck slung an arm around Mark’s shoulder and pressed his cheek against Mark’s.

“This is Prince Lee Minhyung,” Donghyuck introduced him and Mark wanted to protest but Donghyuck continued with, “but you can call him Mark because he’s cool like that and has two names.”

Yangyang giggled and eyed Mark up and down before holding out his hand and saying, with a mysterious glint in his eyes, “My name’s Yangyang. I’m the owner’s apprentice so if you ever need anything and you can’t find Kun I’m the person for you.”

Mark hummed and took Yangyang’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Yangyang grinned. “The pleasure is all mine.” Mark couldn’t see him but he was pretty sure Donghyuck was rolling his eyes. Right as he was about to turn and make sure for himself a man walked out of the back of the shop. Mark assumed he was Kun. There was an apron tied around his waist and Mark was stunned at how beautiful the man was even with dirt all over his clothes, hands and face. His dark brown hair was swept back and his eyes sparkled in a way Mark had never seen before. Even Donghyuck, who Mark thought was the most beautiful person to exist, didn’t have a sparkle like Kun’s.

Kun smiled and the sparkle got brighter and Mark couldn’t utter a word.

“Donghyuck. I almost thought you abandoned me with you not showing up for weeks in a row,” Kun went to hug Donghyuck, seemingly forgetting that he was dirty but Donghyuck didn’t say anything, simply accepted the hug, resting his chin on Kun’s shoulder. Yangyang cackled and Donghyuck glared at him but the boy didn’t stop, simply chirped, “You have dirt all over you Kun.”

Kun startled away and looked down at himself. When he found that he was indeed dirty and Donghyuck’s clothes weren’t as clean as they had been before he put his hands on his hips and huffed, “Why didn’t any of you say anything? Seriously, don’t you care for your clothes?”

Donghyuck just chuckled and Yangyang shook his head. Kun turned to Yangyang with a disapproving look but caught sight of Mark midway, stopping his movements and blinking at Mark. Mark blinked back, mesmerized by Kun’s sparkle up close. It was then that he promised himself to find out what that sparkle was.

“And you are?” Kun asked and if anyone else did that it sounded rude but with Kun it was anything but. It was gentle and simply curious. Yangyang pressed up to Mark’s side before he could answer and Mark briefly wondered if Donghyuck was a magnet for affectionate people.

“His name’s Lee Minhyung but you can call him Mark. He’s a prince by the way so you probably shouldn’t touch him with your dirty paws.”

Mark gaped at Yangyang’s disrespectful words but Kun only smacked Yangyang’s shoulder and looked at him disapprovingly. “I see the year without me didn’t do you any good. You better learn how to behave again,” Kun scolded before turning to Mark and smiling again. “My name is Kun. I’m the owner of this shop. It’s nice to meet you Mark.”

Mark smiled back and took Kun’s hand in his own, shaking it once and despite it coming back dirty he felt good. Kun almost gaped at him but it seemed like he caught onto himself before his mouth could fall open completely. Instead his smile widened but he shook his head.

“Young people nowadays. Weird mix between polite and prideful,” he mumbled before turning back the way he came from. “Well Hyuckie, are you going to help me or aren’t you?”

Donghyuck quickly nodded and followed Kun into the back room, gesturing for Mark to follow. He did without protest, curious to see what Donghyuck helped Kun with.

It turned out to be flower arrangements. Kun’s back room was full of fresh flowers and a door stood open, leading into a big garden filled with even more flowers. Donghyuck and Kun worked diligently, finishing flower arrangement after flower arrangement. Mark wondered why it was Donghyuck helping Kun and not Yangyang and when he voiced his thoughts out loud Kun laughed brightly. He patiently explained to him that Yangyang may be his apprentice but he didn’t do flower arrangements that could be sold. Kun said Yangyang’s talent lay with remembering every single name and meaning rather than putting them together.

Mark hummed and continued asking questions. Both Kun and Donghyuck answered him and shared their views, their stories. Mark learned Kun had always wanted to own a flower shop. He’d always wanted to give other people a little bit of happiness wherever they went and now that he could he didn’t need anything else. Briefly the sparkle in Kun’s eyes resurfaced in Mark’s mind even as Kun’s back was turned to him so he asked if Kun really didn’t need anything but his flower shop and Kun turned around, smiled and said no, his entire world was here.

After a while all flower arrangements were done and Mark helped Kun and Donghyuck carry them out to the shop where Yangyang was hanging over the counter. Apparently it was a slow day today and Yangyang was bored. He asked Donghyuck with a pout if they could play something together and that’s how they ended up in front of the counter, playing some game called ‘Who am I?’. Mark had never heard of it but both Yangyang and Donghyuck assured him it was fun while Kun chuckled and said he was going to tend to his flowers again. So the three of them sat down in front of the counter to be able to see any customers coming in and started playing the game.

It was three rounds in that Mark noticed a little girl outside of the shop. Since Donghyuck and Yangyang were sitting with their backs to the door they couldn’t see her but Mark couldn’t look away. She had shaggy hair, shaggy clothes, shaggy shoes. One hand was balled into a tiny fist and she kept glancing at a specific flower while picking at her clothes with the other hand. Mark got up in the middle of Donghyuck asking him if he was human and stepped out of the shop. The girl startled and looked up at Mark with big eyes.

“Are you alright Miss?” he asked and the girl looked at the flower then back at him and finally to the ground before shrugging. Mark kneeled down in front of her to get a better view of her face. Her mouth was drawn into a pout and her eyebrows were furrowed. “Hey,” Mark said gently. The girl looked up at him. “What’s your name?”

The girl looked down again before whispering, “Mina.”

Mark smiled and tapped his own hand to get Mina’s attention. She looked at him again, pout still in place.

“I’m Mark. Do you want something Mina?”

Mina nodded but didn’t say or move for what seemed like hours before slowly pointing at some daffodils. Mark turned back to her, smiling.

“That’s a good choice. Why don’t we take them and go inside to buy them, mh?”

Mark tilted his head but Mina softly shook her head. Just as Mark was about to ask why she thrust forward her closed hand and slowly opened it to reveal two bronze coins. Just as Mark connected the dots Mina hung her head again and mumbled, “I can’t pay for them and I want them but I don’t want to steal them. Stealing is bad.”

Mark hummed and stretched out his hand, asking for permission to touch the coins. Mina nodded and even willingly laid the coins into his hand. Mark got up and Mina looked up at him with alarm but Mark smiled back at her reassuringly and gestured towards the daffodils.

“Take them.”

Mina shook her head. “I haven’t paid for them,” she protested and Mark tapped his hand that was holding Mina’s coins.

“You have to take them inside before you can pay for them.”

Mina looked doubtful but she took three daffodils and the glanced at Mark’s free hand. Before he could ask her if she wanted anything she asked, “Can I hold your hand?”

Mark nodded and took her small hand in his. Slowly they made their way into the shop where Yangyang was now behind the counter and Donghyuck was lounging on the chair next to it. Mina still looked doubtful and she held onto Mark’s hand tighter the closer they got to the counter.

When they were standing right in front of it Mina could barely even see over it so Mark asked her if she was okay with Mark lifting her. She nodded and Mark picked her up with ease. Too much ease if he was being honest. Mina was thin and delicate, still she shouldn’t be this light. Yangyang smiled at them both and then turned to Mina, looking at the daffodils in her hand.

“Do you want these?” he asked and Mina nodded.

“Do you want me to bind them together?”

Again Mina nodded but she didn’t look at Yangyang, keeping her gaze fixed somewhere on Mark’s collarbone. Yangyang’s smile widened and he carefully took the flowers from Mina, fishing out a bright red band to bind them together. He tied a pretty bow and handed them back to Mina. She took them shyly, like she still couldn’t believe she got the flowers.

“How much is that?” Mark asked Yangyang and the boy asked back, “How much do you have?”

“Two bronze coins.”

Mina flinched, Yangyang nodded.

“Two bronze coins it is then.”

Mark handed the coins over and watched as Mina finally glanced up at Yangyang who positively beamed at her. She quickly looked at Mark’s collarbone again. Yangyang chuckled before asking, “Do you want anything else?”

Mina shook her head and Mark said, “No thanks.” He bounced Mina once and then walked out of the shop with her still in his arms. She didn’t say anything until Mark put her down outside where she had been standing before. As Mark stood up again Mina caught a hold of his shirt and tugged lightly. Mark squatted in front of her again and hummed in question. Mina glanced at him and her pout deepened.

“Thank you,” she said, voice small and Mark’s smile came full force. He couldn’t have stopped it even if he had tried.

“It’s no problem Mina. Just two more things okay?”

Mina blinked at him. She looked a bit scared, clutching the daffodils to her chest.

“Remember not everyone is going to be so kind to you-“ Mina nodded. “-and take this.”

Mark took a small bag from a pocket of his jacket and placed it carefully into Mina’s hand. She tilted her head, her eyes wide and arm heavy from the weight of the bag. “Don’t open it until you’re home okay?” Mark warned and Mina nodded again before whispering a quick _thank you_ and hesitantly drawing a heart on Mark’s palm before running down the street, bag and flowers safe in her hands. Mark smiled and stood up again. He watched Mina disappear before he got back into the shop. Yangyang looked at him like he was proud and Donghyuck…he couldn’t decipher Donghyuck’s look.

“Did you know the daffodil symbolizes honesty and truth? Quite ironic in this instance isn’t it?” Yangyang asked with a smirk and Mark shook his head, taking another bag from his pocket and, instead of answering, asked, “How much were they really?”

Yangyang waved dismissively like it didn’t matter. Mark narrowed his eyes but Donghyuck spoke up before he could say anything.

“Don’t worry about it Mark. I already paid for them.”

Mark sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You weren’t the one who told her to buy them though. I’m responsible for it so I’m going to pay,” he complained but Donghyuck only huffed. “Bullshit. I wanted to pay so I did. And I saw you give her your back up bag Mark. You basically lost more money than those flowers were worth anyways.”

Mark pouted but let the topic go, slipping the bag into his pocket again. Yangyang looked between the both of them before shrugging and asking, “So, another round of ‘Who am I?’?”

¤¤¤

The three of them played until Kun came out of the back room and told them to get out of his shop because they were ‘too young to play some game and not go to the dance’. Yangyang and Donghyuck scrambled to their feet. Mark got up slower, confused as to what ‘the dance’ actually was. It seemed important and like everyone here knew it. Donghyuck had told the others to meet at the fountain again when it was time to dance so Mark supposed it had some kind of schedule.

Donghyuck took Mark’s wrist again and pulled him through the streets. This time however Yangyang was next to them, talking all about how he’d missed the dance and how he couldn’t wait to participate again. The way back seemed shorter than the other way around but it got fuller earlier.

When they finally arrived at the fountain again people were standing in a huge circle and watched people dance around the fountain. On one side there was something like a stage with a little band and a singer who had a beautiful voice. The houses around the plaza were even more brightly decorated than before and lanterns were glowing as the sun set. Mark gaped. As far as he was concerned they didn’t have anything like that at home. There were pairs dancing in the circle, four of which Mark knew who they were. His eyes scanned the crowd for his one friend who wasn’t dancing. Renjun stood in the very front, not far away from them and watched the pairs with a soft smile. Donghyuck spotted him as well, dragging Mark over to him and Yangyang trailed behind.

“Renjun!” Donghyuck called and Renjun turned around, finally catching sight of them when Mark raised his free hand. Renjun waved them over, glaring at the people beside him to make space for them. With the help of Renjun’s intense glare and his aura Donghyuck, Mark and Yangyang all found a place to stand pretty quickly. Renjun mustered Yangyang and the other boy grinned at him before holding out his hand.

“Name’s Yangyang,” he introduced himself. “I think we’re going to get along swimmingly.”

Renjun simply nodded and shook his hand. “Renjun.”

Yangyang’s grin got impossibly wider as he shuffled past Mark and Donghyuck to stand beside Renjun. Mark didn’t feel all too well with those two being close but he was distracted by Donghyuck tugging on his sleeve. Mark turned to look at him to ask what was wrong but Donghyuck was looking at the dancers so Mark directed his gaze at them too. Jihyun and Eunha were definitely some of the most graceful dancers, especially since their dresses whirled around them and gave them even more presence. Johnny and Ten looked a bit awkward, especially since their height difference was too big for them to dance comfortably with each other but they powered through it. Jaemin and Jeno were twirling around with Jeno sporting the brightest eye smile Mark had ever seen and Jaemin shining brightly himself.

The pairing that caught him off guard and who Donghyuck had been looking at were Jisung and Chenle. Even though Jisung was the taller one of the two he assumed the position of the woman. He looked very concentrated with his nose scrunched and his brows furrowed slightly. Chenle was looking up at him with so soft eyes Mark was surprised he could still follow through with the steps.

“Aren’t they just so cute?” Donghyuck asked and Mark hummed and nodded in response. He supposed this was what Donghyuck had meant by Chenle having big plans, the plan having something to do with Jisung and, if the look of Chenle’s face was any indication, getting the younger boy to like him back. If Mark thought about it carefully it was already quite obvious that Jisung favoured Chenle in some way or another. He let the boy get closer to him than his other friends and they were practically already attached at the hip. Mark wondered if he looked like Chenle to other people but unlike Chenle who wasn’t trying to hide his like for the other boy Mark tried not to let on too much.

“What’s this exactly by the way?” Mark heard Renjun ask and turned to look at him again as he was curious about it too. It seemed like a lot of fun and if he was being honest he’d like to have that at home too.

Yangyang tapped his chin and looked up before tilting his head and answering, “Well, it was Yuta, a dance instructor, who first introduced this. He had wanted the commoners to enjoy dancing too and so he established a day that takes place every month dedicated to dance. What dance the event is centered around changes with the month. We have three kinds of dances now. The partner dances, the group dances and the solo dances. The partner dances are what you’re seeing right now. They’re mostly formal but later they’ll just play music for everyone to dance with their partner in whatever way they like to. The group dances have simple steps that everyone can learn after two or three times of seeing them. I like those dances the most to be honest. When it’s solo dance time a lot of people show of their dance skills. Jisung for example is pretty good considering that he’s basically always in the castle, helping some people.”

Renjun raised his eyebrows but nodded slowly. Mark went through all of that again. It had been an onslaught of information he hadn’t quite been able to grasp. But before he was able to ask Yangyang about it again the song came to an end and Donghyuck gripped Mark by the arm to drag him onto the dance floor. He put one hand in Mark’s and the other on his shoulder blade. Mark caught on quickly, placing his free hand on Donghyuck’s hip. Donghyuck beamed at him and something bloomed in Mark’s chest.

“Will you grant me this dance?” Donghyuck asked a bit too late and Mark shook his head, a fond smile in place before rolling his eyes.

“I’ll grant you every dance you wish of me.”

Donghyuck’s cheeks coloured a pretty pink at that and Mark laughed. In that moment he only had eyes for Donghyuck. Forgetting that they were in the middle of a big crowd he leaned in and whispered, “I really mean it.”

Donghyuck slapped Mark’s shoulder blade and then the music started up again. As good as Mark was at dancing he couldn’t hold a conversation while dancing if his life depended on it so they danced without exchanging any words but Donghyuck hummed to the song and Mark made a mental note to ask him just how many songs he knew. At one point Renjun and Yangyang flew past them and even if Mark couldn’t utter a word he raised an eyebrow at Donghyuck who had a wicked grin on his face but just shrugged at Mark’s questioning gaze.

They danced to another song and another until Jaemin pulled them off the dance floor and towards their group of friends, seemingly waiting for them in the crowd. “We wanted to pay Jungwoo’s a visit. Yangyang told me Dejun would be singing tonight and we haven’t seen let alone heard him in so long we didn’t even have to think about going there,” he rambled. Mark was confused as to who Jungwoo and Dejun were but Donghyuck just agreed before turning to Mark to explain.

“Jungwoo is a friend of ours. He owns a bar not far from here and he has music nights sometimes. Dejun is a singer and Yangyang’s boyfriend. He went into another kingdom to learn from different people so we haven’t seen him or heard his voice in over a year. We kind of missed him before he even departed but he wouldn’t let himself be swayed to stay,” Donghyuck explained as he and Mark trailed behind their friends who were having their own conversations.

Not much later they arrived in front of a cosy looking bar. The doors were wide open and Mark could spot a few small tables, occupied by some patrons, a small stage one on side of the room and a bar counter on the other. Everything was held in plain dark brown wood tones and the lamps shone in a warm orange tone. Mark immediately felt at ease with the homey atmosphere and next to him Donghyuck looked kind of proud. Their group stepped inside and Yangyang immediately ran towards another boy behind the counter. He had black hair and a quite handsome face but Mark felt like only handsome and pretty people lived in this kingdom. Yangyang flung himself at the boy and gave him a kiss square on the lips, seemingly not caring about the other people in the room. Mark raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything about it, instead opting to ask, “So is that Dejun? Didn’t you say he was a singer? What’s he doing behind the bar then?”

Donghyuck shook his head and watched as their friends seated themselves around the largest table in the room, barely fitting everyone. “That’s Kunhang. He’s Yangyang’s other boyfriend.”

Mark furrowed his brows but sat down between Donghyuck and Renjun.

“Yangyang has two boyfriends?”

Donghyuck nodded this time, waving at someone over Mark’s head. “Yeah. Well, they’re all dating each other. Yangyang isn’t cheating or anything. He’d never do that anyways.”

Mark hummed and leaned back in his chair. He had never considered the possibility of someone being with more than one person and it being a stable relationship between three people. Renjun nudged Mark out of his thoughts with a hand on his arm and gestured towards the bar counter again. There stood Yangyang between the arms of Kunhang, leaning back against him while holding yet another boy’s hands. His face had sharper lines and fiercer eyes than anyone Mark had ever seen before but he looked incredibly soft while looking at the boys in front of him. He had to be Dejun then.

They looked happy with their arrangement and since Mark wasn’t a nosy person anyways he decided to not think about it too much. It wasn’t his business anyways. Then Donghyuck nudged him and gestured towards a man with a soft face who was standing beside him.

“This is Jungwoo,” Donghyuck introduced him and Jungwoo smiled at Mark and Renjun.

“It’s nice to meet you. I hope you have fun tonight, Dejun and Kun are really two of the best singers I know,” Jungwoo said and his voice was as soft as his face, if not even more. Overwhelmed, Mark only nodded and watched as Jungwoo made his round around the table before ending up behind Donghyuck again and clapping the younger boy on his back. “Maybe you’ll be able to convince Hyuckie here to sing today too. He’s missed so many music nights I miss his voice now.”

And with that Jungwoo left and Donghyuck whined, turning to Mark while pouting. Donghyuck swore he didn’t miss that many music nights and didn’t have to join in but Mark disagreed and Jaemin joined in, both of them trying to convince Donghyuck to get up on that stage when it was time and sing. Eventually the whole table begged Donghyuck to do it, even Johnny, Renjun and Chenle who had never heard him sing before joined in. Finally Donghyuck huffed and agreed and Jaemin cheered, high fiving Mark.

After that their table engaged in light conversation about what they had done that day, what they’d seen or bought. Mark let Donghyuck take the lead there, content in just watching his friends be happy. Happy while it lasted.

Soon enough the lights on the stage flared up and both Dejun and Kun walked onto it, greeting everyone in the bar and introducing what they would be singing. They had prepared five songs, two of which were solo songs, one by Dejun and one by Kun. Since Mark didn’t listen to music a lot he didn’t recognize the songs but a lot of the others did, humming or singing along quietly. Dejun and Kun did have very nice voices. They complimented each other when they were singing together and were still powerful when they weren’t. However Mark was a bit biased so he couldn’t help but think Donghyuck’s voice sounded prettier than theirs.

By the end of their last song everyone was clapping and demanding an encore. Dejun got up and as his eyes scanned the crowd Donghyuck sighed, already getting up from his seat. Dejun smiled and declared, “Well, I’ve been informed that we have the honour of introducing everyone’s favourite to you again.” The crowd whooped, some even turned to look at Donghyuck. “It’s Lee Donghyuck everybody.”

Everybody broke into applause as Donghyuck made his way to the stage and Mark was astounded as to how much everyone seemed to know and like him. It seemed like Donghyuck was a people favourite and Mark couldn’t blame them.

¤¤¤

Donghyuck only sang one song but everybody still loved it and came to their table after to talk to Donghyuck. When Donghyuck looked too exhausted to receive another praise with a smile everyone at the table deflected anyone trying to talk to Donghyuck. Mark patted Donghyuck’s arm and he smiled at him.

Dejun, Yangyang, Kunhang and Kun joined them, making everyone at the table squish together and Mark felt the heat radiating off of Donghyuck. He had known Donghyuck to be warm before but he was basically burning up so he excused them from the table and helped Donghyuck up by the arm, taking him outside for some fresh air and space. Jaemin followed them outside, tugging Donghyuck away from Mark with an apologetic look but Mark only smiled and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. He watched as Jaemin told Donghyuck something and Donghyuck first lightly slapped Jaemin on the arm and then pulled him into a hug. Jaemin looked a bit surprised but reciprocated the hug almost instantly.

Mark watched them hug and waited for jealously to flare up but it didn’t come, just like it hadn’t before. This time Mark didn’t see it as a given, instead leaning back into the wall and looking up at the dark night sky. He supposed it was okay with him for Donghyuck to be so affectionate with everyone because Mark wasn’t an exception. Donghyuck treated everyone equally, no one was privileged and allowed more affection than the others. Even Donghyuck’s new friends like Mark, Chenle and Renjun got hugs and small touches. Mark supposed he’d be a bad person if he were jealous of Jaemin or anyone else for that matter.

When Donghyuck and Jaemin came back to him Jaemin squeezed his shoulder and Donghyuck gave him a blinding smile. Mark was a bit confused as to what it meant but didn’t question it. They got back into the bar, back to their friends and started joking around with them again.

When they finally left the bar for real the moon was high in the sky and the stars were twinkling from afar. The men who worked the carriages seemed mad but they couldn't complain out loud, not with both their princess and a prince present. Mark, who was the only one still standing straight on his feet, paid them extra. They seemed to calm down.

On their way back Donghyuck dozed off on Mark's shoulder and for the first time Mark was glad he didn't find it easy to fall asleep. He admired Donghyuck's face, the gentle slope of his nose and his round cheeks. The little puffs of air Donghyuck let out tickled Mark's neck but it didn't bother him at all. Donghyuck looked even softer in his sleep. He looked younger somehow as though he had more on his mind when he was awake than he let on.

They arrived at the castle when only the guards were still awake and everyone said good night before going their own way. Donghyuck however clung to Mark's arm like a koala and buried his face in Mark's neck.

"You're warm," he mumbled and Mark decided it was a good enough reason to pick him up and carry him all the way to Mark's room. He was pretty sure Johnny, though sleepy, giggled at them but it might have been a hallucination. Mark managed to gently lay Donghyuck down but he still wouldn't let go so Mark had no other choice but to get into bed with Donghyuck still fully clothed in their everyday clothes.

Donghyuck wasn't asleep yet. Mark saw how his eyes weren't closed all the way and his breathing wasn't deep enough.

"Can you sing for me?" he asked and Donghyuck nodded slow and deliberate. He opened his mouth and very softly sang the song he had sung last time too. Mark closed his eyes and snuggled closer to Donghyuck.

He wished it could be like this all the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a ride. The beginning was planned so differently from what happened here. I lost control for a bit but was able to reign everyone in again before everything went to shit. It mostly went according to plan after our little cry fest. Did Mark have a baby crush on Kun for a few minutes I didn't plan at all? Maybe. Did I at least mention everyone from OT21 now? If I didn't miscount, yes. Was the poly relationship of any importance for the story? Probably not.
> 
> Anyways, the question I wanted to ask you was if you would mind if I wrote the next chapter from Hyunjae's perspective (Mark's mom if you forgot). Or would it throw you off? If you do want me to write the next one from Hyunjae's perspective I'm going to be doing that from now on, sneaking in chapters here and there that aren't from Mark's or Hyuck's POV but someone elses. It'd help you see Mark and Hyuck through the eyes of others and it would be a great writing exercise for me. It would be nice if you told me your opinion and why you would/wouldn't like that.
> 
> Thank you in advance :)


	11. A Day Out with the Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I decided to write and publish this chapter this month already because I have a few announcements. I will put those announcements at the end so enjoy the chapter before being bombarded by them :)  
> Also, I really love Hyunjae so I wanted to write her as soon as possible.

Hyunjae was sitting at the table in her room and was watching the door. It was almost time for breakfast but she was waiting for Taeil to come and talk with her like she had requested him to do. She was still kind of disappointed in Taeil for not speaking up against Choonhee but she was sure if her husband was still alive he wouldn’t have said anything against her either had she made such a decision. Still, her children’s lives were not hers to decide and she felt like Choonhee and Taeil by extension were messing with Jihyun’s life.

Hyunjae’s thought process was interrupted by a short knock and then Taeil opening the door and stepping into the room. He smiled at Hyunjae and enveloped her in a short hug before sitting down at the table with her.

“So may I ask why you asked me to tell Choonhee to make the invitations as vague as possible?” Taeil asked, as straight forward as always and Hyunjae tapped her fingers against the table. She had asked Taeil yesterday and she hoped he had done so without having received any explanation as to why. Instead of answering him she asked him a question of her own.

“May I ask if you did it?”

Taeil sighed but nodded. Hyunjae smiled and patted his hand as thanks. He rolled his eyes but there was still a small mile on his face betraying his actual emotions. Still Hyunjae didn’t give him an easy answer but asked him another question, returning into a more serious mode.

“Be honest Taeil, do you agree with this marriage?”

Again Taeil sighed but this time it was more burdened and he sagged in his seat. It wasn’t exactly an answer but Hyunjae was good enough at understanding body language to get that his answer would not make her even more disappointed in him. She urged him to answer by nudging his hand. Taeil looked at her and sighed again before he uttered, “Not exactly, no. But I’d rather have Jihyun marry Mark who I know to be a good and caring person than some scumbag who won’t treat my daughter well. I know you would have wanted me to get Choonhee not to do anything at all but she’s just doing what she thinks is best. I never would have been able to stop her so instead I offered Jihyun half an easy way out.”

Hyunjae nodded. She understood his reasoning, it didn’t exactly make it way better but at least he had thought about it. Taeil still looked at her with somehow curious eyes so she assumed he wanted the actual answer now.

“I wanted the invitations to be vague in case someone somehow changes Choonhee’s mind before the wedding takes place. I’ve already tried but she doesn’t really like me that much and she suspected I was just saying it on Jihyun’s behalf. Still, if the wedding is, for some reason, cancelled it would not be good for your family to have invited so many people just to disappoint. Do you understand what I’m getting at?”

Taeil hummed and leaned back in the chair, folding his hands on the table. Hyunjae knew he would understand. They weren’t best friends for nothing. Taeil cast a look at the clock and stood up with a smile aimed at Hyunjae.

“Well, it looks like it’s time for breakfast and I don’t want to anger my lovely wife.”

Hyunjae snorted, which was very much unlike a queen but Taeil had seen worse sides of her, and got up, linking arms with Taeil on their way out. They talked about things like the weather and how beautiful the birds’ songs were on the way and entered the room with wide smiles. Choonhee was already sitting in her seat but, like basically always, the kids weren’t present yet. Hyunjae had become used to Mark coming in late for breakfast or not at all but it seemed like it hadn’t been like that with Jihyun. Tuning out Choonhee’s complaining she sat down and her mind wandered to the wonderful day she’d be spending with her youngest son. She hoped the servant boy, Donghyuck, would be accompanying them. She had only been half joking yesterday when she had told Mark not to miss his chance.

It was a bit different from what it had been like for Taeyong and Jaehyun. First of all, Mark was marrying Jihyun in a month if worst came to worst. Second of all, Hyunjae knew for sure Mark liked the boy, it wasn’t hard to guess with the way he basically trailed after him, but she didn’t know how Donghyuck felt. He seemed to be better at hiding his emotions and he wasn’t her son who she had known his entire life. Still, even if Donghyuck didn’t like Mark back in the romantic sense he valued their friendship, unlike some servants who would only try to come close to Mark for their own gain.

“We’re never doing that again Minhyung. My head still hurts and I swear I got some bruises from dancing so hard.”

“Hey, I’m not at fault here,” Mark protested against Jihyun’s words as Johnny opened the door for them to walk through and Hyunjae could see Choonhee positively beaming, undoubtedly happy that Mark and Jihyun were ‘finally’ more comfortable with each other. She had been complaining about them not talking and interacting enough but since yesterday she had been over the moon, not even seeing the way her daughter had despaired at the news.

Hyunjae patted Mark’s arm as he sat down next to her and he threw her a smile. Donghyuck and Johnny positioned themselves behind Mark. Mark’s and Donghyuck’s hair was still a bit ruffled and their clothes the tiniest bit crumbled. Hyunjae wondered why they were both in such a state but chose not to comment on it for now, saving the teasing and prodding for later instead. They enjoyed the breakfast in relative silence, the only disturbance being Choonhee’s constant questions and Jihyun’s clipped answers. When Hyunjae was sure Choonhee wasn’t looking she rolled her eyes, not being able to contain her distaste towards the other.

Choonhee wasn’t exactly a bad person but she didn’t think a lot about what other’s felt and was sure her way was the only right one. Evidently that wasn’t true as Taeyong and Mark turned into nice young men even though Hyunjae’s method of raising them was very different.

When they were finished with breakfast Jihyun excused herself and Hyunjae got up not long after her. Taeil and Choonhee looked at her with surprise as she would normally sit with them for a little longer but today she had an agenda and that agenda was to spend a nice day with Mark.

“Well, my son and I will excuse ourselves as well now. We have a lot to do today and not a lot of time.”

Hyunjae didn’t exactly know what they were going to do but she was sure it would be better than uninteresting small talk. Mark got up as well and waited for Hyunjae to walk past him before following her out of the room. Outside Hyunjae turned around to see Mark, Johnny and Donghyuck standing there and looking at her expectantly. She laughed shortly and shook her head at the three of them looking a bit like curious meerkats.

“Well boys, I’m sure you know I want to spend this day with Mark.” All three of them nodded. “But since Mark probably can’t tell me where there is a nice place to relax and spend basically the whole day in this castle I’d like for you, Donghyuck, to join us too.” Hyunjae smiled at Donghyuck and he smiled back a little more shyly and nodded. He really was cute with his full cheeks and soft looking hair.

Donghyuck cleared his throat and glanced at Mark shortly before looking at Hyunjae again. He fiddled with his shirt as he said, “If you want somewhere to spend most of your day the gardens would be a good idea I think. You’ve got fresh air and a pretty sight to behold. Not a lot of people are there if no kind of celebration is taking place so you should be pretty alone too.”

Hyunjae’s smile widened and she thanked Donghyuck before situating herself between him and Mark and taking both their hands. Donghyuck looked at her like a startled deer, with wide eyes and a slack mouth. Johnny was giggling into his hand and Mark leaned forward to look at Donghyuck and explain on Hyunjae’s behalf, “My mom likes to display physical affection with anyone who she’s taken a liking to so that means she likes you.”

Mark actually looked quite proud and sneaked a glance at Hyunjae. She winked at him and squeezed his hand to which he responded to by looking even prouder. When Hyunjae turned to look at Donghyuck he was blushing and averting his gaze.

“Hey.” Hyunjae gently nudged him with her elbow to make him look at her again. “Will you lead us to the gardens?” Donghyuck nodded and glanced at their joined hands before walking down the corridor. Mark was pulled along by Hyunjae and Johnny easily followed them while keeping his distance behind them. Normally he would also walk next to them but since this wasn’t their home and it was a bit different here he couldn’t. Hyunjae knew Johnny didn’t mind much but she did feel kind of sorry.

Her thoughts were immediately silenced as Donghyuck led them outside and into the gardens. They were filled the brightest of flowers. Hyunjae wondered how she hadn’t seen them before, in awe at the beauty presenting itself before her. The gardens back at their castle weren’t as vibrant and the flowers not as big, some petals looked like they were the size of Hyunjae’s palm. She stepped forward, letting go of Mark’s and Donghyuck’s hands and instead inspected the flowers. Behind her she heard Donghyuck say, with a little bit of a sheepish lilt, “I like to come here when I’m stressed or have something to think about. The atmosphere is very calming.”

Hyunjae turned to tell him that this was a beautiful place and she would love such a place too. However, she was met with the sight of Mark looking at the other boy with a wide smile and sparkling eyes.

“You never told me. Oh my god this is so pretty and so big as well!” her son exclaimed and Donghyuck ducked his head, blushing slightly and not meeting Mark’s adoring stare. Oh god, Mark was done for. Hyunjae had never seen him look at something so lovingly before and that included the puppy she had gifted him for his seventh birthday.

Soon Hyunjae and Johnny were forgotten as Mark gushed on and on to Donghyuck and the latter caught himself and started teasing Mark for being so excited. Johnny stood next to Hyunjae and shook his head but when she looked at him he was smiling brightly. Hyunjae understood both her son and Johnny. Donghyuck was very charming and if Hyunjae was being honest, she was already endeared by him as well. He seemed like a smart, passionate and loving boy and Hyunjae had no problem accepting him into the circle of people she held dear.

She stepped closer to the two boys again to insert herself into the conversation.

“We have a fountain here too,” Donghyuck was in the process of explaining, “It’s not as big or impressive as the one in the town but it’s pretty. Do you want me to show you?”

Mark nodded with vigour before remembering that he had originally wanted to spend the day with his mother and not on a date with Donghyuck and turning to look at Hyunjae. Before he even got the question out that was basically burning in his eyes she waved dismissively and smiled. She wanted to see the fountain too, even though she could not compare it to the one in the town.

“Go ahead,” Hyunjae said and both Mark and Donghyuck positively beamed, Mark first at her then at Donghyuck and Donghyuck only at Mark. Then the two of them skipped off and Hyunjae and Johnny followed at a much slower pace. They walked in comfortable silence as the tall man allowed himself to walk beside her, hoping not to be tattled on by some servant.

When they arrived at the fountain Donghyuck and Mark were already talking animatedly and playing around a bit with the water. Johnny chuckled and Hyunjae sighed happily as she sat down on a bench allowing her to keep watching them. The fountain was beautiful. It was made of some kind of white material. The design was very simplistic but the way the water sparkled on the fountain it looked a bit like it was made of tiny diamonds.

“You wanted to spend time with Mark but now you’re just attending a play date and you brought this upon yourself,” Johnny spoke brightly and Hyunjae couldn’t disagree but she was happy just watching her son be happy. She told Johnny as much and the tall man laughed at that.

Instead of Mark telling Hyunjae what he had experienced the last few weeks it was now Johnny but she couldn’t find it in herself to complain when Mark looked so exhilarated. He looked at Donghyuck with such utmost care but handled him in a teasing manner he adopted with every single one of his close friends. And Donghyuck was the same. He teased Mark and he sprayed him with water but he still had a look in his eyes Hyunjae didn’t see a lot anymore. It was loving, adoring, happy but sometimes when Mark wasn’t looking, for just a second his eyes would become deeper. Donghyuck looked a bit sad then, a bit resigned. At first Hyunjae hadn’t noticed. She had only seen them happy and had accepted it as that. However, when Mark had ran to her to show her the flower crown Donghyuck had made she had noticed the change in the younger boy's eyes.

Hyunjae had only wondered briefly as to why that was before quickly coming to a conclusion. The wedding. Donghyuck was sure they could never have anything because Mark was marrying Jihyun. Mark seemed to have pushed that fact to the very back of his mind but for Donghyuck it was ever present. Hyunjae wanted to cradle him in her arms and tell him she’d do anything to prevent it. But she couldn’t do much more anymore and even then Donghyuck was definitely not aware of how Mark felt about him. It was always easier to see things like that from the outside, without a biased perspective.

They were together at the fountain until lunch. Hyunjae and Johnny had to force Mark and Donghyuck to leave the gardens again because they were having so much fun but finally Mark relented when he remembered he had told Hyunjae he would spend the day with her. He apologized profusely and so did Donghyuck but Hyunjae only waved them off and laughed.

“I’m happy as long as I get to see you, Mark.”

¤¤¤

After lunch Hyunjae spent just a little more time with Mark alone as Donghyuck had insisted to leave them alone. Hyunjae had told him that it was okay but he refused her offer of continuing to walk with them. So Donghyuck had told her good bye and hurried off somewhere.

“I can see what you see in Donghyuck. He’s so bright,” Hyunjae said as she packed the rest of her baggage, not wanting to inconvenience the servants. Mark spread his entire upper half over the table and sighed dreamily.

“I know right?”

She was happy she could talk with him openly about Donghyuck. Honestly she had been scared that he would try to hide it but surprisingly Mark was as open as a book. Still, there were some problems they just couldn’t ignore. Hyunjae turned around to look at Mark when she finished packing and sat down at the next to him at the table.

“But you have to be aware that you can’t be together, even if he reciprocates your feelings.” Mark straightened at Hyunjae’s serious tone and nodded with a grim expression. “Technically you could, we both know that. Surely Jihyun wouldn’t mind and Choonhee would never see it, not when she doesn’t even know her daughter has been dating her supposed friend for years now. But I know you would feel bad. Both for having to keep your relationship secret and because you can’t pretend to be happy being married to Jihyun when you’re dating Donghyuck. You and I both know you’re too sensitive for that.”

Again Mark nodded, though this time with a much sadder expression. Hyunjae promptly wrapped him into a hug and stroked his hair. Mark had never been able to hide his feelings well, at least not from her or anyone else who was just remotely interested in him.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make you sad.”

This time Mark shook his head.

“No, it’s okay,” he whispered as he hugged her back.

For a while they remained like that, comfortable in each other’s arms and shutting out the harsh reality outside of the room. But Hyunjae didn’t have a lot of time and she couldn’t exactly be late so she slowly let go of Mark and stroked his hair one more time before standing up.

“But forget about all that gloomy stuff!” she exclaimed, trying to brink back the happy side of her son, even though she was the reason he wasn’t overjoyed anymore. “Tomorrow Taeyong and Jaehyun are going to get here and you’ll have your brother to cling to. I’m sure he’s much more desired than your old, sentimental mom.”

Mark got up to protest but Hyunjae only laughed and called in a servant to help her carry the bags. When Mark pouted at being ignored she laughed again and pressed a chase kiss to his cheek. They walked through the castle and outside. The carriage was already waiting and Taeil was smiling softly at the both of them. Hyunjae hugged him goodbye even though she knew it was inappropriate but she didn’t care now. Choonhee received a formal goodbye and Jihyun a longer hug than Taeil. Without looking at the confusion she knew to be painted across Mark’s face Hyunjae got into the carriage and waved one last time before she departed.

When she was alone, save for her maidservant who was a quiet and private girl, Hyunjae allowed herself to breathe. It was only then that she remembered she never found out why both Mark and Donghyuck had been so ruffled at breakfast and she wanted to slap herself. It wasn’t that important but maybe she would ask Taeyong to ask for her when she was back home.

And as Hyunjae dozed off she couldn’t help but wish for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I conveyed Hyunjae's point of view nicely. I tried to make it more perceptive since she's older and knows what to look for. I also tried to make the conversations have a different tone since, again, she is older and thus has a different kind of speaking.
> 
> I have two announcements. 
> 
> 1\. I counted the chapters this fic would have if I don’t change anything about the story and the way I want to write it and it would amount to around 36 chapters so we would be not even halfway there at this point. If I only published one chapter a month I’d need two years and I honestly can’t do that to you or me so I’ll try to publish at least twice a month but no promises. I might cut some things out or put them into the same chapter but from what I can tell it's going to be around that many chapters as you may already have seen before even reading this announcement.  
> 2\. Unfortunately, school is starting again soon and I have exams in, like, three months so I don’t know how much I will be able to write. One chapter a month is the minimum. I’ll try to write more during the holidays to speed the process up but I can’t guarantee anything.
> 
> Also, thank you for so many kudos. Honestly, 46 might not seem like much but since this is an unfinished fic and I generally avoid those when I'm reading fan fic I'm glad there are people who are reading and liking my story :)


	12. To Dig a Grave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters in what? Two weeks? What's going on?
> 
> I don't know either tbh but inspiration hit and I finished it now. It's 12 am but I couldn't care less. I haven't proofread the chapter yet (Update: I've done it now :D) because I do actually need to go to bed but I liked it so much and I know I wouldn't have been able to sleep if I didn't post it now.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

After Hyunjae left, Donghyuck and Mark spent the rest of the day together. Mark had said he felt lonely now without his mother around and he wanted to feel a little closer to home because of that so he had invited Donghyuck to his room to show him the books he had brought with him. Donghyuck had happily complied and had followed Mark to his room, teasing him about being too attached to his mom. Mark had only rolled his eyes and shoved Donghyuck away when he had tried to cling to his arm. 

When they had arrived at his room Mark had first talked about his home, about his brother and his not-yet fiancé and about how he should get his head out of his ass and propose already. Donghyuck had giggled at that. 

When Mark had vented enough and they had just been sitting in silence for a while they had decided to finally get the books out. So now they were spread out on the bed, both the books and Mark and Donghyuck.

To Donghyuck's surprise the books from Mark's home were written in some sort of dialect he had never learnt. He pointed it out to Mark and it was only then that he remembered that they didn't speak the standard dialect back in their Queendom. Donghyuck almost hit him over the head for forgetting something so important but the way Mark laughed made everything just a little better. He watched the prince point out different things but he didn’t focus on the words. Donghyuck was aware that the days they would be spending now would probably not involve a lot of each other because he just knew Mark wouldn’t allow him to get dragged into the mess that was going to be the wedding preparations. And Donghyuck was already grateful for that but at the same time it made his chest tighten to even just think about the marriage.

Realising his feelings because of the semi-official marriage announcement had not been the best of situations. Donghyuck had already felt a tinge of dread at Choonhee’s cheerful expression and when she had announced the wedding to be in one month the horror had washed over him. His first thought had been that he would see Mark less and less with every passing day because even if it was an arranged marriage he and Jihyun would have to hold up an image. That alone had stung in a way nothing ever had before and then the realisation had hit.

Donghyuck liked Mark and he never wanted to loose what they had for even a second but he would eventually have to give it up. Mark would have to spend more time with Jihyun and even if Donghyuck remained his manservant for the rest of his life he was too little of an actual one to play a constant role in Mark’s life. And even if Mark liked him back they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Donghyuck doubted it in the first place that someone like Mark could start liking Donghyuck in such a short time span, not with all his faults. There was a very very _very_ small chance Mark would like him back and an even smaller chance he would act on it, which also meant it was possible. That small chance gave Donghyuck a hope he shouldn’t have.

Still, they could never ever be together. Not Mark and Donghyuck. Not the two of them. Never the two of them.

“What are you thinking about, Hyuck? You look a bit pale.”

Donghyuck startled out of his thoughts at Mark’s voice and looked at the boy before him with the softest feelings. Mark was looking at him with a worried gaze and furrowed eyebrows but Donghyuck only graced him with a smile and hoped he wouldn’t give himself away.

“I just didn’t understand what you were talking about,” Donghyuck lied, smile still in place. “It gave me a bit of a headache.”

Mark’s eyes widened and he softly settled a hand on Donghyuck’s forehead. Gently, he traced his fingers to Donghyuck’s temple and applied a light pressure, his other hand settling on the other side soon after. Donghyuck struggled not to inhale sharply and to breathe normally while his heart was beating wildly in his chest. Mark, unaware of Donghyuck’s problem, continued to massage his temples with gentle fingers and a look of concentration on his face.

“Is it better now?” he asked a while later and pulled his hands back when Donghyuck nodded slowly. Mark smiled at him, that beautiful smile that beat even Jeno’s, before tapping the book before him.

“How about this? It’s already quite late-“ Donghyuck looked outside at Mark’s words and found the sky to be painted in lilacs and oranges as the sun set on the other side of the castle, a few stars already visible from Mark’s window, which probably meant that they missed dinner. “-and I’m sure you’re tired so I could read you one of the books I brought with me. I can do it in the standard dialect if you want me to.”

Surprised, Donghyuck looked back at Mark and saw the prince look awfully hopeful, maybe even a little apprehensive, as he waited for Donghyuck’s answer. Confused, he blinked and shook his head slightly, not a rejection but a way to clear his head.

“Why? That would mean I’d have to sleep in you bed again, wouldn’t that bother you? Also, I can’t make sure you go to sleep if I go to sleep first.”

Mark chuckled and patted Donghyuck’s head. He almost flinched away but caught himself at the last second, not wanting to make Mark suspicious.

“I’m not going to sleep today anyways, Hyuck. I’m going to be too busy-“ Mark paused as he clenched his jaw so briefly Donghyuck wouldn’t even have noticed it if he hadn’t been as entranced by every little thing Mark did as he was.

“Anyways,” Mark continued, “no singing in the world would help me sleep tonight, no offense. Your voice is the most beautiful one I’ve ever heard but there’s just too much going on in my head to even try to sleep tonight.” Mark gave him an apologetic smile but Donghyuck didn’t mind. His heart was still pounding from the compliment. “And I don’t mind you sleeping in my bed, in fact, I actually encourage it.” Donghyuck blushed and averted his gaze, hoping for Mark to either not notice it or disregard it as unimportant. “I’m sure your bed isn’t as comfortable as mine and didn’t you tell me you don’t have a roommate? That’s got to be lonely after a while. My bed is big enough for two and if you don’t mind and want to you can sleep in my bed whenever you desire to.”

Slowly, Donghyuck nodded and watched as Mark beamed at him. He wasn’t sure if his choice had been a good one, hell, he was pretty sure it wasn’t, but he couldn’t resist the offer of hearing Mark speak in his native dialect.

They got the books off of the bed and as Donghyuck searched for the one he wanted Mark to read to him Mark placed a chair next to the bed and the sleep wear Donghyuck had worn last time on it. This time, as Donghyuck changed his clothes, he did it behind the folding screen, more aware off his body now than he had been before. Mark didn’t comment on it and Donghyuck felt grateful for that, smiling at him when he emerged from behind it again. The prince, who was already seated in the chair and held the book Donghyuck had chosen in one hand, smiled back and gestured towards the bed.

Donghyuck took a deep breath before climbing under the covers and making himself comfortable. To his horror Mark leaned forward and softly brushed some hair out of Donghyuck’s face. It was like time stopped for a moment and Donghyuck only saw Mark’s face close enough to catch the natural sparkle in his eyes. He felt himself falling deeper, deeper, deeper and with that he gave up on himself. There was no saving for him now so he just accepted his fate as a bystander, hopelessly standing and watching as Mark lived his life without Donghyuck.

“Hyuckie?”

Again, Mark pulled Donghyuck out of his head and into reality, this time with a nickname only his closest friends called him by. His heart sped up and Donghyuck cursed it for that.

“Sorry, did I space out again?” Donghyuck asked and Mark nodded but there was a smile on his face that made Donghyuck feel just a little better.

“I just asked you if you want me to read it in our dialect or in the standard one, basically translating it.”

“Your dialect is fine, I’m sure it would be more comfortable for you?”

Donghyuck unintentionally worded it as a question but Mark seemed happy with it as he nodded again. Then he sat back to open the book and clear his throat before looking up at Donghyuck again.

“You have to close your eyes,” he said and Donghyuck complied with a whispered _Okay_. Immediately, Mark started reading and Donghyuck was sure if he had been standing his knees would have become all wobbly. Mark’s voice was a tad deeper when he spoke his dialect, there was a bit more of a rasp to it as well. Donghyuck willed his heart to calm down and not let it get to him to much. He was probably never going to hear it again and it would be better for him to just forget about it. So he took a deep breath and relaxed into the bed, choosing to focus on the lilt of Mark’s voice rather than on his voice itself.

It worked. Not much later Donghyuck felt himself relaxing, getting lulled into sleep. And as he was getting pulled into the land of dreams he thought he felt something on his forehead but that could have been nothing but his imagination.

¤¤¤

The morning was already hectic before Donghyuck even opened his eyes. He was startled awake by a loud bang and someone screaming, "Get the fuck up, Mark! We need to talk!"

Next to him Mark groaned and Donghyuck felt the warmth by his side disappear. Had Mark slept after all? Or had he just lied down because sitting was starting to hurt?

Slowly, Donghyuck opened his eyes as furious whispers were thrown around, some of which sounded a lot like _Shut up, Hyuck is sleeping_. Next to the bed stood Jihyun and Mark, heads together, all wild hand gestures and furrowed brows.

"What's going on?" Donghyuck asked as he sat up and the whispers ceased. Jihyun threw him an apologetic look as she grabbed Mark by the arm. They were tinted in a pretty reddish light but that didn't better the looks on their faces. Mark's hair was ruffled and he looked tired with his eyebrows set in a frown while Jihyun looked like she was trying very hard to not show how upset she was.

"Sorry Donghyuck but Mark will have to skip breakfast today. I have something very important to discuss with him. Maybe you could ask Renjun to make him some late breakfast or something?"

Jihyun tilted her head and smiled at him apologetically. Donghyuck nodded, still not entirely awake and not registering her words properly until her and Mark were already at the door. That was it. That was how it all started.

"Wait!"

Donghyuck scrambled out of bed as Jihyun and Mark came to an abrupt stop. He basically ran over to them, not caring how he must look, how desperate he seemed, too desperate for a friend. 

Before Donghyuck even arrived where they stood Jihyun let go off Mark and stepped aside, allowing the tanned boy to throw his arms around Mark and pull him into a tight hug. He buried his face in the prince's neck and inhaled deeply once to gather his thoughts. 

"You might not feel the same but I for one am going to miss seeing your ugly face every day."

Donghyuck tried to say it in a teasing tone, he really did but the way his voice cracked betrayed him and so he stood and waited for Mark to step back. However, Mark only lightly slapped Donghyuck's arm before tightening his hold on him and whispering, so low that Donghyuck barely even heard him, "Me too."

Holding back tears, Donghyuck squeezed him back. This wasn't a reason to cry. It wasn't like he wouldn't see Mark at all anymore and even if Mark felt the same now there was no guarantee he would when he was all swept up in preparations. Who knew if he would ever even spare Donghyuck a thought.

"Okay boys, I'm sorry to disturb you like this and, honestly, if I could I'd let you stand here all day but it's kind of urgent. Donghyuck, you're his manservant for now anyways and I'm sure you're going to find a way to weasel yourself into Mark's schedule. We really have to go now though," Jihyun said, breaking the weird atmosphere that had built up around them. Reluctantly, Donghyuck let go and gave Mark the best smile he could muster. Mark smiled back and ruffled Donghyuck's hair.

"Go back to sleep, Hyuck. It's way too early to be awake."

Both Donghyuck and Jihyun rolled their eyes at that. Out of all the people they knew Mark was the last one to have the right to say that.

"Just go," Donghyuck groaned. Mark beamed at him and ruffled his hair once more before turning around and walking past Jihyun who held the door open for him. Jihyun herself hung back a bit and waited for Mark to be out of earshot before she turned around to look at Donghyuck again.

"I'm sorry," she said, a sad smile on her face, before she went to hurry after Mark. Donghyuck, perplexed, watched as the door closed. What just happened? What had she apologized for?

Donghyuck wrecked his brain, trying to find a reason but in the end the only thing he could come up with was that Jihyun was a very observant person. She must have seen how Donghyuck had been more distraught than he would have been if he didn't have romantic feelings for Mark. She must have apologized for everything that was happening. 

It was then that Donghyuck decided to tell Jihyun, when he next saw her, that it was okay and that she didn't have to apologize because she didn't have any power over the situation either.

Slowly, Donghyuck went back to the bed again and sat down on the edge, folding his hands, looking through the window, squinting at the sun. It looked more dull than it normally did but it wasn’t only the sun. Everything was kind of toned down.

That was how Johnny found him later, knocking on the door once and immediately after, stepping in. Donghyuck turned to look at him and watched him look around the room like he was searching for something. This was underlined by his question, not seconds later.

"Where's Mark?"

Donghyuck shrugged and Johnny frowned, walking up to him and squatting down in front of him to look up at him with worried eyes. He placed a warm and gentle hand on Donghyuck's folded ones. Donghyuck looked away.

"What happened?" Johnny asked in a soft voice and Donghyuck, surprisingly, had to take a deep, shuddering breath to answer. He had thought he had himself under control, had hoped he wouldn't be as affected as he was.

“Nothing happened," Donghyuck said while shrugging again and Johnny got the younger to look at him with gentle fingers on his chin. “Okay, well, maybe Jihyun dragged Mark out of here, to discuss something important with him, like-" Donghyuck glanced at the clock- “an hour ago or something."

Johnny hummed and tapped his fingers against the back of Donghyuck's hand.

“And why are you here?"

“Mark wanted to read to me," Donghyuck answered like that was the best explanation he could have ever given. Chuckling, Johnny got up again, tugging at Donghyuck's hands.

“C'mon, I'll treat you like a prince in Mark's place this morning," he grinned and Donghyuck felt things brighten up again as he giggled and let Johnny pull him towards the dresser.

¤¤¤

Donghyuck was on his way to Jeno’s chambers, excited to meet with his friends again, even though they had seen each other just a day ago. But normally they saw each other every day so Donghyuck thought his excitement was justifiable. He was hoping for Jaemin to also be in Jeno’s chambers and maybe even Jisung since he didn’t have any regular patients to treat anymore but with what Chenle had told him the day before yesterday he probably wouldn’t be there.

Donghyuck threw the doors open without a warning. Jeno shrieked and shoved Jaemin away so hard the younger fell to the floor with a grunt. It was silent for a second, Jeno staring at Donghyuck with wide eyes and Jaemin grabbing his, probably hurting, back. And then Donghyuck broke into loud laughter, clutching at his stomach and curling in on himself, slowly sinking down, joining Jaemin on the floor. He didn’t know why he thought it was so funny but it felt good to laugh that much.

When he finally stopped, stomach hurting and tears streaming down his face, Jeno face was as red as a tomato and Jaemin just looked exasperated.

“C’mon now Hyuckie. It wasn’t _that_ funny,” he complained, crossing his arms and glaring at Donghyuck from where he was now leaning against Jeno’s leg. Donghyuck disagreed, getting up and walking towards them with a skip in his step.

“My, my, my. Young love, indeed. Got together two days ago and already getting it on,” he sing-songed, barely avoiding Jaemin’s punches, and instead wrapping his arms around Jeno.

“It’s alright Jen, only an oblivious ass wouldn’t have noticed you two being even more touchy the last few days anyways. And I’m sure Jaemin down there-“ A punch to Donghyuck’s shin. Donghyuck giggled. “Jaemin down there already told you that he told _me_ that you guys are together now. I’m genuinely so happy for you. You’ve been pining after each other for so goddamn long.”

Donghyuck could practically feel Jaemin roll his eyes as the younger boy finally got up, prying him off of Jeno and clinging onto him himself. Next to them Jeno chuckled and enveloped them both in a hug.

“Cuddle pile!” he exclaimed and Jaemin and Donghyuck joined in.

“Cuddle pile! Cuddle pile!”

“Did I hear someone say cuddle pile?” a familiar voice asked and three heads turned towards the door, none of the boys letting the others go. Peeking into the room with his head between door and frame stood Renjun, a slight smile on his face.

“Can I join?”

All three of the currently hugging boys immediately nodded and Jeno reached a hand out toward Renjun, tugging him into the hug and screaming, again, “Cuddle pile!”

“Cuddle pile! Cuddle pile!”

Donghyuck giggled and squeezed Jaemin harder, Jaemin returning the sentiment immediately.

When it got too hot they separated but sat down together to talk a bit. Somehow they arrived at the topic of significant others and while Jeno and Jaemin were throwing each other loving gazes openly the dread built up in Donghyuck. He didn’t want to talk about it yet, preferably never, because Jaemin would, without a doubt, find out who Donghyuck was interested in. Thankfully Renjun was the one receiving all the questions.

“So do you have anyone you’re interested in, Jun?” Jaemin asked, lying his chin in his palm, elbow on Jeno’s knee. Renjun shook his head.

“No, not really,” he answered. “I’m not really interested in romance? I don’t know how to word it but hear me out. I’ve never even had a crush on anyone and I don’t dream of finding the perfect person and living with them happily ever after. It’s enough for me to have lovely friends and spend time with them. I thought I had a crush on Mark once but in reality I just wanted to be his friend.”

Jeno laughed, not in a mean way, not at Renjun but with him. Donghyuck laughed too, a bit more strained.

“But I’m glad to have him as a friend, really. I couldn’t have chosen better.”

Jaemin nodded along to Renjun’s words but his gaze was directed at Donghyuck. He shrunk into himself, trying to save himself from Jaemin’s knowing eyes.

“Now that we’re on the topic of Mark,” Jaemin started and Donghyuck resolutely stared a hole in the floor. “why don’t we ask Hyuckie if he likes anyone.”

Donghyuck’s heart rate immediately picked up and the fingers picking at his shirt got frantic. He had known it. He’d known Jaemin would know and yet he’d still not anticipated it. Not that directly, not in front of Mark’s own best friend even if he was their friend too. He wasn’t ready for it. Wasn’t ready to say it out loud, to acknowledge it to someone who wasn’t Donghyuck himself. So, not trusting his voice, he whispered, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

There was a heavy silence, unbearable.

Donghyuck sniffled.

In a second all three of the other boys were by his side. Jaemin hugged him from one side, Jeno from the other, Renjun took his hands in his and rubbed soothing circles.

“No, no, no. Don’t cry, Hyuckie. I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would affect you so much. God, I’m so sorry, it was an asshole move.” Jaemin wiped Donghyuck’s stray tears away with his shirt. “Hey, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, okay? No one is going to force you.”

“Yeah,” Jeno and Renjun agreed, easily, instantly, simultaneously. Jaemin leaned down to look Donghyuck in the eyes.

“You’re feelings are your own and if you don’t want to tell us you don’t have to, okay?”

Donghyuck nodded and then joked with a watery laugh, “Mark’s dumb anyways, who’d want to talk about him?”

Renjun snorted and agreed with a smile on his lips.

After that their little circle sat closer together, all of them touching Donghyuck in some way. Jaemin’s hand stayed on the small of his back, Jeno’s was lying on his knee and Renjun absentmindedly played with his fingers. It was nice like this, even though Donghyuck had almost full on bawled in front of his friends.

They moved on to lighter topics like what day was the worst on of the week and why. Renjun and Donghyuck both blurted out _Wednesday_ immediately and when Jeno agreed with them Jaemin looked more offended than ever before in his life.

When the time approached noon and Jaemin had to go to the kitchen to help and Renjun said he’d come with him they all got up. Jaemin left Jeno with a kiss and Donghyuck with a tight hug before skipping out of the room, Renjun hot on his trail. Jeno was still slightly blushing when Donghyuck turned to look at him.

“I’m gonna go visit Sungie now. Do you want to come with?”

Face back to its normal colour, Jeno shook his head and answered, “No, sorry. I have to go out with the dogs.”

Donghyuck nodded and patted his shoulder, wishing him luck with the rowdy ones before he took off towards Jisung’s chambers.

He found himself ducking his head as he wandered around the halls as there were so many people out and about today he felt a bit ill at all the flurry before his eyes.

“Oh, hey Donghyuck!”

Donghyuck looked up and saw Mark rushing over to him with a big smile on his face. Automatically, he smiled back, a small but genuine smile.

“Hey,” Mark greeted again as he reached Donghyuck. “Look, I don't have much time because there's some kind of meeting for something or another but Johnny kind of needs to be there as my voice of reason so if you see him could you tell him to come to the Great Hall?”

Donghyuck only nodded and Mark beamed. Disregarding everything that was the norm in this castle Mark quickly pressed his cheek to Donghyuck's before thanking him and hurrying off again. Rapidly blinking, Donghyuck stood in the hallway, servants and nobles rushing by, and wondered, for the second time that day, what just happened.

He startled back to life as a familiar tall figure basically ran past him.

“Hey Johnny! Mark said-“

“I know!” Johnny interrupted him, already rounding the corner. “Thanks, Donghyuck!”

And with that he was gone. For a brief second Donghyuck wondered if he had hallucinated it but the way some nobles looked to the corner Johnny had disappeared beyond he was pretty sure he hadn't. 

Shaking his head, but with a smile on his face, Donghyuck continued on towards Jisung's chambers. However, just as he was about to turn the corner he was stopped by someone's hand on his shoulder. Wondering why today was so hectic he turned around.

“Thank god I caught you in time,” Eunha huffed, retracting her hand from Donghyuck's shoulder. 

“Look, I'm sure you're enjoying your free time but would you mind giving Mark's brother and his boyf- I mean, Lord Jung a tour when they arrive? Mark can't because he's in a meeting, same with Jihyun, and I can't because those goddamn adults are giving me a hard time. So, please?” she asked, fluttering her eyes at him in an overdramatic way. Donghyuck rolled his eyes and nodded. 

“Yeah, sure.” 

Briefly, Donghyuck remembered the day Eunha had asked him to show Mark around, to be his temporary manservant so he tagged on, teasingly, “As long as I don’t have to be his manservant too.”

Eunha giggled and hugged Donghyuck, squeezing him as she whispered in his ear, “Thanks, Hyuck. You’re the best.”

She pulled away, patted his shoulder and said, “They’ll be here in a few minutes so it would be nice if you could go out right now. See you!” And then she was gone again.

Donghyuck sighed fondly but redirected himself to walk towards the front entrance instead of Jisung’s chambers. He wondered what Mark’s brother looked like. If he had features just as soft and cute, if he also had the big eyes both his mother and Mark shared, if he was as pretty. His thoughts wandered as he came closer to the open front doors, barely even realizing that there was already a carriage standing in front and King Taeil was greeting two young men.

Slowing down, Donghyuck mustered them. The taller one had a nice face, manly but gentle, very handsome. He had kind eyes and when he smiled dimples appeared. Donghyuck would have pegged him as the prince if it hadn’t been for the aura of the shorter man currently engaging in a conversation with the king.

He may have been smaller than his companion but the way his jaw was set and his eyes were narrowed made him look slightly intimidating. He exuded such an aura of power and confidence Donghyuck had to stop for a second to prepare himself. From the way Mark had talked about Prince Taeyong he had seemed less intimating and more like he loved watching the flowers grow and the bees fly around.

But the man in front of King Taeil looked nothing like it. His coronet, fancier than Mark’s but less impressive than Queen Hyunjae’s crown, sat snug on his head, gleaming under the sun and making him look almost ethereal. The way the reflecting light painted his face was nothing less than artistic.

Cautiously, Donghyuck stepped forward, alerting the man next to the prince who he assumed to be Lord Jung. Lord Jung tapped Prince Taeyong on the shoulder and jerked his head in Donghyuck’s direction in a not so subtle attempt to make the prince notice him too.

King Taeil turned around and smiled widely as he saw Donghyuck. Immediately, he pulled him closer by the arm, making Donghyuck almost stumble.

“This is Lee Donghyuck. He’s Mark’s temporary manservant until Chenle feels better again.” Donghyuck decided it was a wise decision not to tell the king that Chenle was feeling more than healthy already. “I wanted him to show you around a bit as we’re sadly all pretty occupied. Well then, since he’s here now, I’ll go but I hope you enjoy the little tour and the rest of your stay here.”

The king bowed and as did Prince Taeyong and Lord Jung. They all watched as King Taeil walked back into the castle with a hurried step. Donghyuck turned to the two young men again and found them already looking at him.

“Um,” Donghyuck started and cleared his throat. “would you like to see the castle inside or outside first? We could walk through the gardens and then I could show you any room or place you want to see.”

Prince Taeyong’s face immediately lit up and Donghyuck almost recoiled at the way his entire demeanour changed. Once second he was an intimidating, serious prince and the next he had the biggest, most childish eyes as he smiled widely at Donghyuck.

“You guys have gardens?” he asked in an excited tone and Donghyuck didn’t know how to answer but thankfully Lord Jung did it for him.

“Come on, Yongie. Just because it’s a different castle doesn’t mean they don’t have gardens. And you’ve been here before! You’ve seen the gardens.”

Prince Taeyong, honest to god, _pouted_ and looked like he was going to throw a temper tantrum.

“I know,” he protested weakly. “Sorry for being excited I guess.”

Lord Jung only chuckled and squeezed his shoulder before turning to look at Donghyuck again who had watched the exchange silently, stunned at the difference.

“Then, would you show us the gardens first?” he asked and Donghyuck only nodded, turning on his heels to show them around.

The tour felt like it went by fast but by the time they all arrived at Prince Taeyong and Lord Jung’s room the sun was setting and Donghyuck’s feet hurt from walking around so much. Prince Taeyong had been like an excited child, pointing here and there, even roping both Lord Jung and Donghyuck into a race. The prince had won easily but the smug grin had been wiped off of his face by Lord Jung quickly with a soft kiss to his temples.

That was also something Donghyuck had noticed about the two as they had walked together. They were disgustingly cute even when they didn’t try to be. Lord Jung had fished a leaf out of the prince’s hair and in return he had received a kiss to his hand. Whenever Prince Taeyong had brushed his hand Lord Jung’s, whether by accident or not, the taller male had immediately took a hold of it and hadn’t let go until the prince had sprinted off again. They had stolen a bit of bread and jam from the kitchen when both Prince Taeyong’s and Donghyuck’s stomachs had grumbled at the same time and Lord Jung had fed the prince against the other’s protests. They were so obvious Donghyuck wondered if Queen Choonhee wouldn’t see their bond either.

Even as they stood before Donghyuck, who had just showed them their room, they were extremely close and Lord Jung’s hand was hovering just above Prince Taeyong’s waist.

“Well, this is where we part ways for today. If you need anything you can come by my chambers or ask any of the servants, really. We’re all very nice here,” Donghyuck said and bowed at the two in front of him.

“Good night then, Prince Taeyong, Lord Jung.”

Just as Donghyuck rightened himself again Prince Taeyong stepped forward, smiling warmly and taking Donghyuck’s hands into his extremely soft and warm ones. Donghyuck’s heart almost stopped right then and there when he looked at Lord Jung, alarmed and he only got a charming smile. What the _hell_ was happening?

“Donghyuck,” Prince Taeyong began, “you don’t have to call us by our titles. You call Mark only by his name, right?”

Dumbfounded, Donghyuck nodded. For some reason he hadn’t expected Mark to talk about him to his brother at all but now that he thought about it it was kind of inevitable, given the amount of time they had spent together.

Prince Taeyong beamed. Donghyuck almost got whiplash.

“Then you can call us by only our names as well! All friends of Mark’s are friends of mine and Jaehyun doesn’t have a say in this yet.” Lord Ju- Just Jaehyun lightly hit Pr- Taeyong’s shoulder as Donghyuck and the prince giggled. “So just feel comfortable around us, okay? I’d love to get to know you better as well. Personally.”

Donghyuck nodded, smiling. It made him happy to know that Taeyong really was as kind and thoughtful as Mark had made him out to be.

“Good night, Donghyuck,” Jaehyun smiled and Donghyuck bowed slightly once more before taking off towards his own chambers. He thought he heard a faint squeal of _Mark was right! He really is a sunshine boy!_ But that couldn’t have been right.

Later, he fell into bed, already missing Mark’s presence next to him but he couldn’t go to Mark’s room and sleep in his bed. Not when it would only make his feelings worse, not when there was a chance Mark was actually there and would card his hands through Donghyuck’s hair again like he had seemed to have taken to during the last few days, not when-

Donghyuck found himself walking towards Mark’s chambers before he knew it. Johnny was standing in front of the door and smirked as Donghyuck appeared before him. He opened the door without another word but his eyes conveyed everything for him anyways.

Mark was already in bed, eyes closed but breathing not slow enough for him to be sleeping already, not that Donghyuck had thought he would be.

Hesitantly, Donghyuck climbed into the bed, suddenly unsure if Mark’s invite from yesterday was really genuine but before he could change his mind and go back to his own bed Mark wound his arms around him and pulled him down next to him. He buried his face in Donghyuck’s neck and one leg slipped between Donghyuck’s. The younger could only pray that Mark wouldn’t hear his heartbeat.

“Sing for me, please? The day’s been so exhausting,” Mark whispered and Donghyuck only nodded silently before clearing his throat and softly singing.

Soon, the prince’s breaths evened out and his grip on Donghyuck loosened slightly. Donghyuck wiggled back a little to catch a better look at Mark’s face. It was almost too dark to make out anything but Mark’s button nose was easy to locate. With a racing heart, Donghyuck leaned forward to peck it. He was so gone for him.

Mark pulled Donghyuck’s closer again, mumbling something under his breath and Donghyuck decided then that it was a good idea to close his eyes and fall asleep if he didn’t want to die of a premature heart attack.

Donghyuck took a deep breath and finally closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn’t dig himself an even deeper grave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, Hyuck asked himself what the hell happened three times in this chapter and, honestly? I can relate. Just, life in general.
> 
> Also, their friends just don't care anymore that they sleep in the same bed. It happened once and now they're like 'Yeah, they do that.'
> 
> What do you think of this chapter? What do you think Jihyun wanted to talk to Mark about? Why did she apologize to Hyuck? What is Chenle trying to do?
> 
> So many questions. So many answers, so little chapters. Actually, this chapter was originally three chapters so technically I saved two chapters but I decided to keep the 36 for now in case I miscounted or add anything later on. Hope you enjoyed and don't stay up too late like me :)


	13. Take your Sweet Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what happened to this chapter but what I had in mind and what really happens are very different things. Still, I hope to have conveyed quite a few points nicely and successfully. Hope you enjoy!

Mark woke up while was still dark outside. Donghyuck was still lying in his arms, little puffs of breath hitting Mark’s collarbones.

The prince slid back slightly and waited for his eyes to get used to the dark. Donghyuck looked as peaceful as ever. His lips were parted slightly and his nose occasionally scrunched up. Mark giggled quietly as he lifted a hand to caress the younger boy’s cheek. He hadn’t really expected Donghyuck to come and sleep in his bed at all. Surely, it had to have been weird for Donghyuck to be invited to sleep in Mark’s bed whenever he wanted to.

The day had been very exhausting. After Jihyun had dragged him out he hadn’t caught a single break. Even when he had gotten Renjun to make him something quick to eat he had immediately been whisked away by someone to discuss things Mark really didn’t want to think about at all. That’s why he had almost immediately collapsed into bed after everything had been done for the day, tired but not sleepy.

Donghyuck showing up had saved him a lot of time in falling asleep and wallowing in thoughts Mark didn’t want.

And now he was lying in front of him, sleeping, comfortable in Mark’s bed. The prince caressed the side of Donghyuck’s face, tracing along his temples, over the side of his cheeks, his jaw line and to his chin. Donghyuck leaned into the touch and Mark smiled. It was nice to just lie in bed like this and if he pretended the wedding didn’t exist he could even feel happy. If he pretended the wedding doesn't exist. If he pretended... That was it!

Mark got up hurriedly but carefully to avoid waking Donghyuck. He got dressed faster than ever before in his life before storming out of his room.

Gently, he knocked on Jihyun's door before opening it and walking inside. There was a lump on her bed too big for only one person and Mark sighed, reluctant to wake them from their peaceful sleep but this couldn't wait, at least not for Mark. So he walked up to the bed and shook the figure he thought was Jihyun. It wasn't.

Eunha turned around, eyes still half closed but already looking confused.

“What's going on?” she asked groggily and her hand went up to rub at her eyes.

“Sorry, sorry. You can go back to sleep. I actually need to talk to Jihyun.”

Grunting, Eunha fell back onto the bed and shoved at her girlfriend until she stirred and sat up slowly. Her hair was a total mess and she looked very tired but Mark would let her go back to sleep again anyways after he told her what he wanted to.

“Jihyun,” he whispered, walking around the bed to sit next to her. “I've got the perfect idea.”

Jihyun put a hand to her temple and glared at Mark. Eunha was already on her way to sleep again and Mark didn't doubt that she wanted to do the same. Still, she engaged him, asking, “The perfect idea for what exactly?”

“The wedding.”

Immediately, Jihyun seemed more awake, sitting up straighter and leaning slightly towards Mark.

“Okay, three questions,” she began and Mark nodded. “One, why are you awake at this hour, didn't I tell you to sleep no matter what?” Mark opened his mouth to protest and tell her that he had slept but she held up her hand, shutting him up effectively. “Two, how the fuck did you come up with an idea at-” she threw a glance at the clock, squinting at it before turning to him again- “three fucking am? And three, what is it?”

“Okay listen, I can only answer two of those.” Mark took a deep breath, grounding himself. “One, I did sleep, okay? I just woke up, like, a few minutes ago. Two, the idea is to just pretend like the wedding doesn't exist. We-”

“Wait, wait, wait. Wait a second. We can't- we can't just _pretend_ the wedding doesn't exist. As much as I'd like to do that it won't make it disappear, if anything it'll make it even worse.”

Mark shook his head and raised a finger before saying, “I know that, okay? Listen to me. Choonhee said we can do whatever we want to, right?” Jihyun nodded. “Then I say, make it look like it isn't a wedding. None of that fancy stuff or anything like that. Honestly, we could make it look a bit like what the town looked like when it was the dance night. It looked pretty and definitely didn't have the colour scheme of a wedding. Normally, we'd have to incorporate our colours but now we don't have to because we can do whatever we want.”

Jihyun hummed and tapped a finger against her chin. Mark leaned forward, anticipating what she had to say to his idea. It wasn't really well thought out and he'd still rather have no marriage than one looking like a town’s festival but they had to work with what they could.

“Yeah, okay,” Jihyun finally said and Mark smiled. Success. “We could ask Yuta for help too since he's the one organising the dance night every month- Ah.” Mark's smile fell and Jihyun didn't look tired anymore. She looked exhausted. “We can't tell him. He's not invited and no one knows about it.” She threw her hands up and Mark could see how she wanted to scream but couldn't with a sleeping Eunha beside her. 

“I don't get it!“ she whisper shouted in the end. “Why can't we tell anyone if Mother has literally sent out invites? That's just so dumb.”

Mark nodded and opened his mouth to then verbally agree with her but he was interrupted by Eunha groaning, “Go to sleep already, you asshats. I want to sleep. Jihyun needs to sleep and wants to too. Mark, I'm sure you need to sleep as well. So shut up. Jihyun come back to sleep and Mark go away.”

Jihyun fondly rolled her eyes and carded her hand through Eunha's hair.

“Alright, love, whatever you want.”

Mark whispered a good night, Jihyun whispered back and Eunha just huffed. The two girls cuddled up together, barely distinguishable from each other. Mark smiled and headed back to his own room, hoping Donghyuck wouldn't be awake to ask him where he'd been.

It was his luck that he wasn’t and Mark could lie back down again to try and fall asleep, though now his mind was occupied with how the wedding would go and how they would decorate and organize it. Choonhee had made some kind of mistake by giving Jihyun and Mark all the freedom to do whatever they wanted to for the wedding but Mark wouldn’t complain. He would take what he could get.

¤¤¤

“Hey, Mark?”

Mark turned his head to look at Donghyuck who was blinking back at him with tired eyes. It was barely after sunrise and Mark had been staring at the ceiling ever since he came back from Jihyun’s room.

“What is it, Hyuckie?” Mark asked and watched as a small smile made its way onto Donghyuck’s face. The younger boy looked so at peace.

“Won’t people question it if I come out of your room so early in the morning with my sleepwear? Isn’t it kind of weird?”

Mark shrugged, brushing a strand of hair out of Donghyuck’s eyes. He hadn’t really thought about that but considering nobody ever said anything about Eunha leaving Jihyun’s room in the morning they probably didn’t care. It seemed like Choonhee was the only one who did anyways.

“I think it’ll be okay,” Mark said. “They never tell on Jihyun and Eunha so they probably won’t tell on us.”

Donghyuck hummed before yawning and stretching his body like a cat. The boy looked ethereal in the morning sun. His already honey skin had an even warmer glow and the shadows accentuated his features further. Mark couldn’t help but feel like this was the sight he wanted to see every morning. He couldn’t though, not with what was happening, not with Donghyuck’s non-existent romantic feelings for him.

“How long have you been awake?” Donghyuck asked Mark as he swung his legs out of bed and cracked a few bones. Mark grimaced, not wanting to worry Donghyuck so he lied, “I haven’t been up for long. Maybe an hour.”

Donghyuck hummed and threw a look over his shoulder that told Mark that he hadn’t gotten better at lying. Still, Donghyuck didn’t demand the truth, instead getting up and stretching again. He turned around and mustered Mark from head to toe before pointing at him.

“You, young men, better close your eyes for a while and if I get back and find your eyes to be open I’ll tell Johnny to throw you in the fountain,” Donghyuck threatened with a completely serious face and Mark didn’t put it past him to actually do it so he immediately shut his eyes.

“What if I have to get up before you get back here?”

“Let’s keep our heads in the present, not the future.”

Mark nodded and kept his mouth and eyes shut as Donghyuck moved around the room. The door opened and Mark heard a whispered “Get some rest, Mark.” before it shut with a soft click.

¤¤¤

Mark didn’t get to open his eyes to Donghyuck next. Johnny basically pulled him out of bed, warning him beforehand about Choonhee wanting to do something Mark probably wouldn’t like. When Mark asked what that something was Johnny answered that he didn’t know for sure either, only that there were a lot of nobles walking around in the halls, more than usual.

Breakfast was held earlier than normal with Taeyong and Jaehyun sitting on Mark’s side instead of Hyunjae. Taeyong shot his brother a soft, small smile and ruffled his hair slightly when Mark sat down next to him. Mark scowled at him and then at Jaehyun who pinched Mark’s cheek.

Choonhee was already in a fantastic mood, a stark contrast to the carefully neutral Taeil and the unmotivated Jihyun. Mark was kind of scared what Choonhee had planned, considering the last thing hadn’t really worked in anyone’s favour. Choonhee clapped her hands together and presented them all with a blinding smile. Mark wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out again.

“It’s so nice to be able to have you, Crown Prince Taeyong, and you, Lord Jung, here with us. Since we haven’t had the chance to properly be able to get to know each other I thought of hosting a tea party today.” Scratch the hole, just bury Mark alive. “You may have noticed the influx of nobles. I am glad to announce that the tea party will be attended by the most prestigious and important families of our kingdom.”

Taeyong gave Choonhee a smile that seemed genuine but Mark knew it to be fake, strained. Jaehyun wasn’t far better off, his smile not reaching his eyes. Next to Choonhee Taeil looked seconds away from running and never returning. Jihyun was just moving her food around on her plate, a blank look on her face.

“I’m delighted to hear such news,” Taeyong spoke in his best Crown Prince Voice and folded his hands over the table. “I’m sure it will be great, Your Majesty.”

Choonhee nodded and then continued eating. How did she not notice that nobody but her actually thought hosting a tea party was a good idea? Just how was she so ignorant?

Breakfast passed with a weird atmosphere. Nobody but Choonhee really talked unless they had to, meaning Jihyun and Mark were entirely silent during the whole meal. Ten had looked over Mark’s head at Johnny with a look in his eyes Mark couldn’t interpret in any way. It probably didn’t have a good meaning anyways.

Mark and Johnny passed Donghyuck in the hallway, the younger boy telling them he was on kitchen duty for the day and apologizing but Mark didn’t mind at all. Taeyong and Jaehyun caught up with Johnny and Mark then, greeting Donghyuck warmly and with bright smiles on their faces. Donghyuck smiled back before excusing himself.

Seeing the confused look on Mark’s face Taeyong explained how Donghyuck had given them a tour the day before. Jaehyun added that they had basically bonded. Mark giggled at that, Donghyuck was indeed easy to bond with.

Back in Mark’s room the young prince was promptly pulled into an embrace by his brother and, when he was finally released, his brother’s boyfriend. They exchanged a few quick words, consisting mostly of Mark updating Taeyong on the situation and Johnny piping in every so often.

“Don’t force anything Mark,” Taeyong said before he and Jaehyun left to get changed into more formal clothes. “I worry about you.”

¤¤¤

The tea party sucked. Except for Jihyun and Eunha there weren’t any other people Mark’s age and the adult’s conversations were so stiff. Still, Mark engaged them, giving them tight smiles and his opinion on the war in the east that had happened before he had even been born. He was praised for his extensive knowledge and wise insight, whatever that meant.

Jihyun and Eunha stuck together during the whole party and Mark mostly stood with them in silence. They didn’t need to talk to know none of them enjoyed it here. The girls were nursing the same cup of tea for over three hours as Mark drowned himself in the herbal drink. He didn’t necessarily like the taste but it gave him an excuse to disappear from the garden for a while to relieve himself.

Though the party wasn’t big it was still pretty hectic. Servants were flitting here and there, passing out fresh tea and bringing snacks after snacks, ranging from sweets to more hearty food. Mark didn’t touch any of it, feeling like if he did he would give in.

Sometimes, Mark would catch a glimpse of Donghyuck serving out snacks here and there but the two never actually met. They made eye contact a few times but then either Mark or Donghyuck was whisked away before they could talk.

Taeyong was always surrounded by girls over girls, making pretty eyes at him. Officially Taeyong wasn’t yet off the market so he couldn’t say anything to free himself, even as Jaehyun’s eyes followed him everywhere he went. That was why Mark always told his brother to finally propose and not worry about what ifs.

“Excuse me, Your Royal Highness?” a young girl asked Mark, effectively stopping him from making his way back over to Jihyun who looked like her head was about to split in half from pain. Mark smiled at the girl, leaning down a bit.

“Yes, Miss?”

The girl’s gaze flickered between Mark and somewhere behind him but he didn’t want to turn, unsure of the meaning behind that gaze. The girl played with her fingers as she finally directed her gaze to the ground, making Mark feel more secure for some reason.

“Um,” she started, “well, first of all, my name is Nora.” Mark nodded and squatted in front of Nora to be able to look into her eyes when she lifted her head again. “I- I have a question.”

“Okay,” Mark smiled, being reminded of Mina and wondering what she was doing now. “What is it, Nora?”

Nora cleared her throat and glanced up at Mark. Her eyes were big and shimmery, looking at Mark with curiosity swimming just under the surface. Briefly, Mark thought her eyes were going to swallow the whole world someday.

“The- the tan servant. He told me to ask you personally.”

“Ask me what personally?” Mark asked and Nora ducked her head, a blush spreading on her face. Mark wondered if she meant Donghyuck with ‘tan servant’. It would be pretty plausible, considering Yukhei was the only really tan person he had met in this kingdom.

“If, um, if you are single,” Nora said shyly and Mark almost choked on air, eyes widening in surprise. Why would such a young girl want to know that? Surely, she wasn’t interested or anything.

Mark considered asking her straight-out if she was interested but that would be considered rude and he honestly was kind of scared of the answer so instead he opted for, “Now, why would you want to know that?”

Nora seemed more confident then, puffing her chest and looking at Mark proudly.

“Because your gazes kept locking. And Mom told me that our eyes always find our loved ones! So I was wondering if you two are together.”

This time, Mark actually choked on air, face heating up rapidly. Nora looked panicked, a hand hovering just in front of Mark like she was unsure what to do. She probably hadn’t expected such an extreme reaction and Mark couldn’t blame her, he wouldn’t have either. He took a few deep breaths and thumped his chest before looking at Nora again.

By now, she looked slightly terrified but Mark wanted to give her his answer so he cleared his throat and beckoned Nora closer. She took a few steps and when she was close enough Mark said with a soft voice, “I am still single but listen to me Nora.” Nora nodded. “Loved ones aren’t limited to romantic love, okay? Not like your mom and dad feel for each other but like friends do. Friends can be loved ones too. There are many kinds of love so keep that in mind, alright?”

Nora nodded again, a bright smile on her face, before she bowed and skipped off, shouting, “Mom! I learned something new!”

Mark chuckled and got up again, looking around for Jihyun and Eunha. The two girls were standing a bit further away, hovering near a bench occupied by some elderly men. Their eyes were on each other and Eunha’s hand that had restlessly been stirring her cold tea with a spoon had stopped its movements.

Mark decided to leave them alone.

¤¤¤

The sun was setting when Mark finally stepped foot into his room, immediately falling against the closed door. Johnny huffed and pulled Mark to a chair, getting him out of his shoes and undoing the complicated buttons on his jacket.

“Johnny,” Mark groaned, head lolling back and eyes closing. “Why am I doing this again? This all sucks I just want to read books and live in peace. Why do I have to interact with other people and pretend to be something I’m not?”

Johnny was silent for a while, only continuing to undress the tired prince. Mark still waited for his answer. It always came anyways.

“You’re doing this for Jihyun,” Johnny finally said when Mark was completely stripped of his outerwear. The tall man easily wound his arms around Mark, lifting him and walking the remaining distance to the bed, before letting Mark down on it. Mark’s eyes were tightly shut he could not for the life of him open them. “You’re doing this so that Jihyun doesn’t have to suffer as much as she would with anyone else.”

Mark nodded slowly, barely even noticing Johnny pulling the blankets over him. That was right. He was doing it for Jihyun, his best friend, the girl that wanted to best for everyone else and would never defy her parents.

“I love Jihyun,” Mark mumbled. “She doesn’t deserve this.”

A gentle hand carded through Mark’s hair and someone sighed softly.

“Neither do you Mark. Neither do you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And cut!  
> Everybody is suffering, including me, and I just feel bad for, like, almost every character in this story for what is about to come but life is hard and I hope all my fluff fics make up for what I'm putting Hyuck and Mark through here.


	14. A Day Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite a lot of talking so I hope I still conveyed the feelings properly and it isn't awkward to read. The angst gets a little heavier here but there's also fluff and happiness because I'm weak :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Donghyuck missed Mark already. He wanted to hang out with the prince again and just explore the castle and the nature around it as well as the town. Obviously, they’d seen each other for the last few days, even if they hadn’t spoken during the tea party. Still, Donghyuck had decided to really _really_ not go sleep in Mark’s bed anymore since he shouldn’t get used to it like he was to having Mark by his side.

Of course, he still went to Mark’s bedroom in the morning since he theoretically still was his manservant but neither Mark nor Johnny were there and Donghyuck didn’t want to interrupt anything so he didn’t go looking for them.

To get his mind off of Mark, Donghyuck started helping out in the kitchens again, having fun with Jaemin and Renjun who were delighted to spend more time with him. Jaemin excitedly told Renjun stories about the many things that had gone wrong with Donghyuck in the kitchen and the smaller boy laughed, clapping a pouting Donghyuck on the back. Renjun talked about how he hadn’t been perfect in the beginning either and had made mistake after mistake as well. They got distracted with telling the stories, working slower and Doyoung immediately picked up on it.

“You kids gossip like fishwives. What’s so important that you have to talk about it during your precious time in the kitchen?” the older man asked with a raised eyebrow, seemingly materializing behind Jaemin. Jaemin flinched, turning around in the blink of an eye and staring back at Doyoung with wide eyes. Renjun only laughed and Donghyuck cleared his throat, going back to work. Doyoung focused on Jaemin, laying his hand on the boy’s shoulder and fixing him with a serious gaze.

“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you and Jeno are together now,” Doyoung began and Jaemin choked on nothing, coughing violently. A small smile appeared on Doyoung’s face as his gaze softened. “I may have a soft spot for Jeno but you still have to work as hard as before, understood?”

Jaemin nodded, receiving a clap on the back from Doyoung who stalked off soon after. Donghyuck and Renjun glanced at each other. The corners of Renjun’s mouth lifted and Donghyuck snorted just a second before the two of them broke into loud laughter. Donghyuck bent over, clutching at his stomach as Jaemin calmed down and turned to glare at him.

“Shut the fuck up. I was _dying_ over here,” he spat, slapping Donghyuck’s shoulder.

“Hey, Renjun’s laughing too. Why do only I get slapped?” Donghyuck complained after taking a deep breath and steadying himself. Renjun’s eyes were still shimmering with mirth but Jaemin only threw a glance at him and shrugged, declaring, “Renjun is innocent.”

Donghyuck gasped, offended at the blatant lie, especially as Renjun stuck out his tongue at him but Jaemin only flicked Donghyuck’s forehead and told him to get back to work. Grumbling, Donghyuck complied but not before sticking his tongue out at Renjun too.

After that, everything went rather smoothly. Nobody nearly died or caused any other kind of scene and Doyoung let them go until it was time to prepare dinner. Jaemin was elated, immediately rushing to look for Jeno but Donghyuck and Renjun hung back, slowly wandering around the castle.

“What’s your favourite place here?” Renjun asked and Donghyuck didn’t have to think about it at all, after all there was nothing prettier than- “The gardens.”

Renjun hummed, falling completely into step with Donghyuck. The two of them were silent for a while and Donghyuck’s mind wandered. It was kind of weird for it to be quiet around him for long, especially since he’d spent so many days with Mark who was quick to laugh or giggle at anything. Donghyuck missed Mark’s laugh and it hadn’t even been that long since he’d last heard it. It was just such a happy, pretty, and carefree sound, it was hard not to miss.

He shouldn’t miss Mark that much, especially considering the discrepancy in their status and way of living. Sure, they were friends in their little world but that would never really be accepted by a lot of noble and royal people. Mark and he shouldn’t even talk to each other as casually as they did. Donghyuck sighed, tilting his head back. Somehow, the castle seemed suffocating.

Renjun chose that exact moment to speak up, pulling Donghyuck from his thoughts by asking, “Can you show me the gardens? I’ve been here for quite some time but I never really left the kitchen that much and even when I did, it was hard to find my way around in this castle.”

Donghyuck turned his head to look at the older boy who was smiling at him. A small smile spread on Donghyuck’s face as well as he nodded, pointing to where they had to go. They continued to walk in silence. Renjun didn’t seem like someone who talked a lot, instead listening or enjoying the silence. Donghyuck didn’t mind. It was a change of pace, sure, but he liked it more than he thought he would.

Ultimately, Donghyuck brought Renjun to a place in the gardens that was far away from the fountain he had shown Queen Hyunjae, Mark and Johnny a few days before. Instead, he showed him the pavilion. It was kind of small and petite. White wood, covered in pretty loops of ivory, and high windows. Inside, it was warm and Renjun visibly relaxed.

They sat down on a bench on which they could easily observe the wide expanse of the garden. Renjun complimented the flowers and the pavilion in itself, talking about how pretty everything was. Donghyuck nodded and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes and trying to focus on the here and now, not on his memories with Mark.

It proved to be harder when Renjun wasn’t talking but Donghyuck didn’t want to ask the older boy to continue talking. It would’ve been weird and Donghyuck liked the atmosphere between the two of them as it was.

They sat in silence for a while and Donghyuck even almost dozed off. Renjun was still beside him, slowly breathing in and out, sometimes humming under his breath. It was him who broke the silence and Donghyuck out of the headspace of nothingness he had created.

“Donghyuck?” Renjun asked and Donghyuck slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him. The older boy had his head leaned against the wall as well, looking up at the ceiling. His fingers were folded neatly in his lap, not fidgeting or picking at anything and Donghyuck was reminded of the calm that seemed to be ever present in Renjun.

“Yes?” Donghyuck answered, almost with a whisper. Renjun blinked once, twice before turning his head and looking at Donghyuck, his face completely serious. Donghyuck didn’t know what to expect now. He and Renjun hadn’t exactly hung out by themselves before. Sure, they had had their little cuddle session that one night and Donghyuck had asked Renjun to help prepare snacks once but that was about it. And during those times they had never really spoken to each other.

Renjun remained calm, even as Donghyuck nervously started picking at his shirt.

“Do you ever think,” Renjun started and Donghyuck held his breath, “that arranged marriages as really really dumb?”

Frozen, Donghyuck stared at Renjun but the older boy didn’t give him time to answer anyways, looking at the ceiling again and continuing, “I mean, if I was a king I’d rather want my child to be happy than force them into anything. Arranged marriages barely ever actually end in a good relationship between the people involved and when the parents aren’t happy, the children aren’t either. My parents were in an arranged marriage and neither of them wanted anything to do with me.” Renjun shook his head but his eyes didn’t betray any sort of emotion. “I just think stuff like that shouldn’t happen.

“A parent should accept their child as it is and not be intolerant, trying to change it by forcing them to do something. It’s not gonna help anyways.” Donghyuck wasn’t sure Renjun was only talking about arranged marriages anymore but he didn’t say anything as the older boy sat up properly, looking straight ahead. “And the concept of status is just as bad. Why can’t servants be friends with royalty? Why can’t they be together? They’re all just _people_.”

Renjun sighed and leaned back again, looking at Donghyuck and presenting him with a small smile. Unthinkingly, Donghyuck smiled back. Renjun talked more than he had expected.

“Anyways, what I’m trying to get at,” Renjun said and Donghyuck leaned towards him slightly, “is that you like Mark, yes?”

Donghyuck froze again. All of his thoughts screeched to a halt as Renjun reached for his hands and took them into his gently. His body was now fully turned towards Donghyuck and the smile was gone, serious face back in its place. Donghyuck only looked back at him with wide eyes. He knew Renjun kind of knew of his crush but he didn’t know what Renjun wanted to say to him next and that scared him.

However, Renjun only squeezed Donghyuck’s hands and whispered, “I know it’s hard to not be with Mark every single day now. You got used to it and it probably makes you feel good but it’s not like you’re never going to see him again. The wedding preparations suck and everything but I’m sure the two of you are going to make time for each other in some kind of way.” Renjun squeezed his hands again. “And Mark likes you too. He’s so fond of you it’s kind of ridiculous.” He huffed a short laugh as the tension in Donghyuck finally lessened. “I mean, I understand him. You’re easy to like and you’re just, I don’t know, I guess magnetic fits you a lot. I like you too and we’ve barely even talked.

“What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t be too down about not being able to be with Mark for now. I’m sure you’ll be able to hang out with him again soon. And the wedding-“ Renjun hesitated, biting his lip- “The wedding is a problem because Mark is a bad actor and he could never be with you when he has to pretend to be with Jihyun.”

After that, it was silent again, only Donghyuck and Renjun’s breathing being audible as Donghyuck took in everything Renjun had just told him. He made it sound like Mark actually _liked him back_ but Donghyuck knew that couldn’t be true. He may have talked about Mark being, or rather, not being with Donghyuck after the wedding but that had all been hypothetical. Because how in the hell could Mark like Donghyuck like that?

Slowly, Donghyuck nodded, cracking a small, genuine smile. Renjun smiled back.

“I’m okay, Renjun,” Donghyuck assured the older boy, gently prying his hands out of Renjun’s grip. “I know I’m being irrational by missing Mark. I may like him but he’s never going to like me back the way I want him to and that’s okay. I just hope if he ever finds someone that it’s going to work out between them.”

Renjun took a deep breath, seeming somewhat disappointed, and nodded, leaning away from Donghyuck again before offering, “If you ever need anyone to talk to about Mark, I’m here.”

Donghyuck smiled again and thanked him. He was definitively _never_ going to take him up on that offer.

¤¤¤

The two of them spent some time after that just walking through the gardens, Donghyuck showing Renjun all kinds of flowers. Renjun paid attention to every word he said, asking questions Donghyuck didn’t know how to answer.

They walked past Jisung’s window and Donghyuck glanced inside to see whether he could annoy his friend or not. To his surprise, Jisung was sitting on his desk, shell-shocked expression on his face, frozen with his hands in the air.

Donghyuck was quick to worry, climbing in through the window and landing with a loud thump. He hurried over to Jisung who was blinking slowly as if he was surfacing from where he had been before. Donghyuck touched his arm with gentle hands, tilting his head to look Jisung in the eyes. The younger boy shook his head quickly, like when he ate something sour, and blinked at Donghyuck in rapid succession.

“What happened, Sungie?” Donghyuck asked, worried. Jisung was slow to answer, first looking around the place before his eyes settled on Donghyuck again. He didn’t look like he was back entirely but Donghyuck patiently for his answer anyways.

“Um, I- Chenle, he-“ Jisung stuttered, unable to form any complete sentences. Donghyuck’s eyebrows shot up at the mention of Chenle and a voice behind him piped, “What did Chenle do this time?”

Both Jisung and Donghyuck startled and looked at Renjun who was standing in the room, probably also having climbed in through the window. Donghyuck had totally forgotten about him at the state Jisung had been in. He felt kind of bad but Renjun didn’t seem particularly offended, stepping closer and asking again, “What did Chenle do?”

Jisung cleared his throat and blushed brightly, ducking his head and causing Donghyuck to grin. Chenle had told him about his crush on Jisung and how he’d wanted to first make the younger fall for him and then declare his feelings as soon as possible. It had been why Donghyuck had stayed as Mark’s manservant even though Chenle was healthy again. Still, he was surprised by Chenle’s absence and Donghyuck doubted he would just leave after telling Jisung how he felt. It also didn’t explain why Jisung was on his _desk_ of all places.

“Chenle,” Jisung began again, the blush subsiding slightly but still present, “He said that I should sit on my desk so I did and then- then…” He cleared his throat again. “Then he told me he likes me and when I said I like him too he- he _kissed_ me.”

It was silent for about a second before Donghyuck snorted and Renjun chuckled behind him. Jisung looked kind of offended, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting.

“What?! That was my first kiss and he was whisked away by Sicheng before I could even really respond. How does he even _know_ Sicheng?”

Donghyuck heaved a breath, bending over as to not burst out laughing again at the face Jisung was making. Apparently, Renjun was faster to recover, answering, “They met the very first day. Sicheng checked on him when you went to get some more supplies. Chenle is sociable so he was quick to befriend him.”

Jisung’s pout deepened. Donghyuck patted the younger boy’s head with a solemn nod. Sicheng normally wasn’t someone who befriended someone easily but Chenle just had something about him that made people be at ease.

Donghyuck was kind of proud that Chenle’s plan had succeeded and happy for both Jisung and Chenle but a bit deeper inside something hurt. Maybe he was jealous, maybe he wanted to be able to do that with Mark too but he knew he would never be able too.

Renjun pulled Donghyuck out of his thoughts once again as he declared, “If you tell Chenle to kiss you again he wouldn’t let anyone take him away.”

Jisung blushed madly and Donghyuck laughed, chest hurting.

¤¤¤

Helping to prepare dinner and then exchanging stories with Renjun and Jaemin again, distracted Donghyuck for a while. At least until it was dark outside and the three of them parted ways to go to bed. As soon as Donghyuck was all done washing up and changing into sleep wear, climbing into bed slowly, he was alone with his thoughts wondering if he should go and check on Mark. They were friends after all and maybe Mark would feel sad if he didn’t see Donghyuck at all.

Donghyuck was quick to catch himself. He didn’t see his friends every day and he still wasn’t _sad_ about it. They all had their own lives after all. Still, Donghyuck tossed and turned, feeling bad about not visiting Mark but not wanting to be too obvious. Maybe Mark didn’t even want to see Donghyuck every day. Maybe he even enjoyed the time he didn’t spend with Donghyuck because they had been together so often he had gotten sick of seeing Donghyuck’s face. Maybe-

“Stop moving so much, how am I supposed to cuddle you?”

Donghyuck stopped abruptly, looking up at the sound of a very familiar voice. Jaemin was standing by Donghyuck’s bedside, one knee already on the bed. Silently, Donghyuck moved over and Jaemin climbed into his bed, enveloping Donghyuck in a warm hug. Letting out a long breath, Donghyuck calmed down, slowly hugging Jaemin back.

Jaemin always had a calming effect. He stroked Donghyuck’s hair and pressed his lips to his temple, silently asking Donghyuck to talk to him. Normally, Donghyuck would immediately do it but this time he hesitated. He knew what he was stressing over was dumb and uncalled for but if the talk with Renjun helped then it would be even better with Jaemin so Donghyuck took a deep breath and quietly said, “I think you know what it’s about.”

Jaemin shrugged, mumbling against Donghyuck’s skin, “I don’t know, maybe. What _is_ it about?”

“Mark.”

Jaemin hummed and pulled Donghyuck closer, brushing his hair back and kissing his forehead. Closing his eyes, Donghyuck relaxed and leaned towards Jaemin. His brain immediately supplied him with an image of Mark in Jaemin’s position and Donghyuck’s eyes flew open again. Jaemin didn’t notice any of it and if he did he didn’t say anything.

“You miss him, don’t you?” he asked and Donghyuck nodded hesitantly. “That’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with it. I know you think you shouldn’t even like him and that, even if you do, he’d never like you back.”

Again, Donghyuck nodded, tears building behind his eyes. He was emotional over nothing. This wasn’t anything to cry about, Jaemin was just stating the facts. Still, Donghyuck sniffled.

Jaemin took a few deep breaths and Donghyuck followed the pattern, listening to the calm heartbeat of his best friend. The younger boy smiled against Donghyuck’s forehead and rubbed his hand down Donghyuck’s back before continuing.

“You shouldn’t be so pessimistic, Hyuckie. I know it’s hard to believe that Mark may like you back, I mean, I felt the same with Jeno, and it may actually be true-” Donghyuck’s heart hurt at that. He knew it was only logical and he thought that anyways but it was still different to hear it from someone else- “but that doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to miss him. I’m sure he misses you too, no matter what he sees in you. You were together every day until now, that’s sure to have some kind of impact on him at least. Don’t try to downplay your feelings but don’t get too attached either, okay Hyuckie?” Donghyuck nodded against Jaemin’s chest. “Okay. If you ever wanna talk, I’m here, like always.”

Donghyuck nodded again and this time the tears were unstoppable. Tightening his grip on Jaemin, Donghyuck thought back on what Renjun had said. It had been almost the exact same thing, hadn’t it? Donghyuck was just inconveniencing everyone.

Burying his face in Jaemin’s chest, Donghyuck whispered, “I love you.”

Jaemin chuckled, kissing his forehead again, scratching his scalp. Donghyuck felt him open his mouth but he didn’t get to answer as Donghyuck’s door opened and Jeno stepped in.

“Oh,” he breathed, stopping short in the frame at the sight of Donghyuck and Jaemin being pressed together. “Am I too late?”

Donghyuck sniffled, giggling as Jaemin rolled his eyes and beckoned Jeno closer. Sheepishly, Jeno complied, dropping a kiss on Jaemin’s eyelids and then on the crown of Donghyuck’s head before climbing over them and carefully lying down behind Donghyuck. The bed groaned under their combined weight but they only shuffled closer together, rearranging themselves. Donghyuck’s bed was way too small to fit the three of them but somehow they made it work.

Finally, Donghyuck closed his eyes. Jaemin and Jeno had their arms around him, breathing into his hair and grounding him with their steady heartbeats. He felt warm in their embrace.

“I love you,” he said again and his friends shuffled even closer. Jaemin kissed somewhere near Donghyuck’s eyebrow and Jeno the shell of Donghyuck’s ear.

“We love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> I wasn't sure how to correctly convey Hyuck's feeling of missing Mark but I think I did a pretty good job.
> 
> This chapter may be the only one this month since I have to work on my paper for school that needs to be done by the 10th of October and I haven't even started yet but it counts for 4/5 of my final grade so... yeah.  
> Don't expect another chapter this month but for the ones reading my shorter fics too, there may be an influx of those. Probably a lot of fluff because I de-stress by writing fluffy fics. I'm pretty sure you can look forward to that :)


	15. When to Stop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a chapter from another POV yet again. Yey!
> 
> I hope I was able to capture different thoughts and feelings and I also hope you enjoy!

Taeyong was wandering around the castle after lunch, hand in hand with Jaehyun. The servants didn’t seem to mind and everyone else was too busy noticing something that didn’t concern them so they could allow themselves this little luxury. It wasn’t like they could be thrown out for holding hands anyways but Taeyong didn’t trust Choonhee not to do something like cancelling the wedding.

At first, Taeyong had meant to spend more time with Mark because they hadn’t seen each other for too long but Mark was so busy and all over the place, Taeyong had barely been able to speak with him. He wanted to know more about what his brother had experienced during his stay and about his friendship with that servant boy, Donghyuck. In one of his letters, Mark had called him a sunshine boy and Taeyong could do nothing but agree.

The day Donghyuck had shown them around, the boy had been radiant, especially when showing them the gardens. Taeyong already felt some kind of brotherly love towards him and he hoped to be able to befriend the boy too.

“What’re you thinking about, love?” Jaehyun asked softly, leaning closer to Taeyong. Taeyong looked up at him with a smile and squeezed his hand, answering, “Nothing in particular. I wonder if Donghyuck would like to befriend us. I mean, maybe we’re too old for him.” Taeyong pouted as Jaehyun laughed quietly, bumping their hips together. “Don’t laugh at me. You know I like to make friends with Mark’s friends.”

“I know, I know,” Jaehyun said, still chuckling. They continued on, looking around to see if they still recognized where they were based on what Donghyuck had show them. As if by a miracle, Donghyuck rushed around a corner and basically bumped right into Taeyong. He let out a little _oof_ sound and stumbled back but Jaehyun caught him in time, saving him from falling down on the hard floor.

“Ah, Taeyong, Jaehyun. It’s nice to see you,” Donghyuck smiled, bowing and glancing behind the two of them. Taeyong smiled back.

“Nice to see you too, Donghyuck. Where are you going, if I may ask?”

Donghyuck blinked, refocusing on Taeyong, looking a little lost before smiling again. He snapped his fingers twice before answering, “I’m going to see my friends. We have something like a day off and they wanted me to spend it with them.”

Taeyong’s face lit up and Jaehyun groaned quietly. Obviously, he already knew what the prince was going to ask and Taeyong wasn’t ashamed of it. He liked spending time with Mark’s friends and getting to know them personally. It had been fun to spend time with Renjun and Chenle so Taeyong assumed it would be the same with Mark’s friends here too.

“If you’re comfortable with it,” Taeyong began and Donghyuck’s eyebrows twitched up. Next to Taeyong, Jaehyun let out a long sigh. “could Jae and I come with? I’d like to get to know you and your friends better since you’re Mark’s friends and I like to know the environment Mark is in.”

Donghyuck hesitated and glanced at Jaehyun. Jaehyun just shrugged, so Taeyong was the main focus again. He didn’t want Donghyuck to feel uncomfortable so he assured him, “If you don’t want that you don’t have to agree. Don’t feel like you do just because I’m a prince. It’s your decision to make.”

“Um…” Donghyuck pursed his lips, seemingly thinking hard. Jaehyun gently nudged Taeyong, leaning in close to ask in a hushed voice, “Are you sure about this, Yongie? I know you mean well but Donghyuck doesn’t know you that well yet so he might still feel pressured.”

“It’s okay, I can tell when someone feels pressured or not, you know that,” Taeyong replied, whispering as well. Donghyuck chose that moment to answer Taeyong’s question, cutting Jaehyun and Taeyong’s conversation short.

“Okay, I don’t mind.” Donghyuck smiled. “It was fun when Mark met them and they’re really nice, so hopefully, you’ll enjoy it too.”

Taeyong nodded with a wide smile and Donghyuck stepped past him and Jaehyun, gesturing for them to follow.

While Donghyuck was guiding them towards where he was headed, they made light conversation about nothing too serious, mostly how long Donghyuck had lived in the castle or about his friends. However, just as the conversation died down a little, Donghyuck piped up again, changing the topic.

“By the way, do you know what Mark is doing today?” He asked, turning to look at Taeyong and Jaehyun but Taeyong could only shake his head. “I didn’t see him yesterday or today and I’m worried that he’s overworking himself.” Donghyuck sighed, shaking his head. “And that unhealthy sleeping habit of his is probably not helping.”

“You’re right,” Taeyong agreed, somehow happy about Donghyuck worrying over his little brother. It stirred something at the back of his mind but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “I’ll see if I can get him to sleep at a reasonable time today. I just hope he’s in his room when I get there. Other than that I really wouldn’t know where to look.”

Donghyuck nodded before, pushing a door open, mumbling, “Here we are.”

Inside the room was pure chaos. Chenle was wrestling with a quite pretty, brown-haired boy, rolling over the floor. On the sidelines stood Renjun and two taller boys, one with a bright eye-smile, the other anxiously hovering as if he wanted to break up the fight but didn’t know how to.

From what Taeyong remembered from Mark’s letters, the one with the eye smile was Jeno and the pretty, brow-haired one was Jaemin so that meant the boy looking extremely conflicted was Jisung. They looked nothing like what Taeyong had imagined but somehow, the description Mark had given him still fit perfectly.

Donghyuck sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I’m sorry for the chaos, they’re usually not that-”

“Cuddle your own boyfriend!” Chenle screeched, interrupting Donghyuck. The latter pressed his lips together and let out another long-suffering sigh. Taeyong didn’t quite believe that he wouldn’t join in under normal circumstances.

“I’ve known Sungie longer than you!” Jaemin screamed back, trying to escape the grip Chenle had on his shoulders. “Just because you get to kiss him doesn’t mean I can’t cuddle!”

“Now, now, we have visitors,” Donghyuck said calmly, stepping closer and drawing the attention of every boy in the room. Renjun grinned, as did Chenle, when they saw Taeyong stand behind Donghyuck. Jeno and Jisung straightened and Jaemin looked confused, glancing between Donghyuck, Taeyong, and Jaehyun.

Donghyuck pointed to Taeyong first, then to Jaehyun, saying, “This is Crown Prince Taeyong and, uh…” Donghyuck glanced at Taeyong, a question in his eyes. Taeyong wasn’t entirely sure what he was asking but he smiled and nodded anyways, wanting to know how Donghyuck would introduce Jaehyun. “This is his boyfriend, Lord Jung.”

For a second, Taeyong was confused as to how Donghyuck knew his and Jaehyun’s relationship and then he remembered that they hadn’t exactly been subtle about it.

Jaemin scrambled up, finally freeing himself, before bowing deeply. Jeno and Jisung bowed too, though Jeno was still looking up, regarding Donghyuck with suspicion.

Before Taeyong or Jaehyun could tell them that they’re here for a casual friendship, Donghyuck snorted and informed them, “You guys can relax. Mark’s brother and his boyfriend are just as chill as Mark himself. Seriously, Jaemin, you should’ve expected it. This is the second time it happened.”

Jaemin, Taeyong was so glad he had guessed correctly, rightened himself with furrowed eyebrows, glaring at Donghyuck.

“You suck, Hyuckie,” he complained, crossing his arms. “I come to you at night and I cuddle and comfort you and this is how you repay me? Isn’t my love worth anything anymore?”

Donghyuck only waved dismissively, turning to look at Taeyong and Jaehyun, gesturing towards his friends and saying, “This is Jaemin. The tall one with the eye smile is Jeno. He works kind of as a sitter for the pets, also he’s Jaemin’s boyfriend. The other one is Jisung, brightest medic in all the land.”

Jisung blushed and furiously waved his hands, looking as if he was ready to deny it all but before he could say anything, Jeno stepped forward, bowing slightly again and smiling. He looked really cute but also kind of dangerous with his body being so well build but his face so soft.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jeno greeted and Taeyong’s own smile widened as Jeno rightened himself again.

“I feel the same. Mark talked about you guys in his letters so I really anticipated meeting you. You’re just as chaotic as he said you were,” Taeyong laughed and this time, Donghyuck blushed along with Jisung. Taeyong wasn’t entirely sure why he would but he wasn’t one to question a lot of things.

Renjun stepped forward and promptly sat down on the ground, gesturing for the others to do the same as he asked, “Well, should we get to know each other better then? Mark said it was fun when you guys first met and I bet it’ll be even more fun now.” He leaned a little closer to Jaemin, who had already seated himself next to the smaller boy, and continued in a stage whisper, “And honestly, Taeyong is even more fun to tease than Mark is.”

Taeyong shook his head but smiled as he cuffed Renjun upside the head.

“Stop spreading such rumours, Renjun. I refuse to be called easier to tease than Mark,” he sad as he sat down but Renjun didn’t even seem fazed, giggling behind his hand.

“Prince Taeyong,” Jeno started and Taeyong didn’t have the heart to interrupt him for addressing him so formally. “It was nice to get to know what Mark enjoys to do in his spare time so would you tell us what you like?” Jeno glanced towards Jaehyun and smiled. “And you too Lord Jung.”

Taeyong clapped his hands together and smiled brightly, glad to know that it wasn’t hard to get the conversation flowing with the boys. He excitedly talked about how he enjoyed drawing and embroidery as well. Sadly, he wasn’t as talented as Mark in playing instruments but he was quite good at dancing if he said so himself.

Renjun immediately jumped onto that statement, demanding for Taeyong to display his skills, Donghyuck and the other boys soon joining in. Taeyong hesitated but when he looked at Jaehyun for help, his boyfriend only grinned, stood up, held out a hand and asked, “Would you grant me this dance?”

Of course, Taeyong couldn’t just refuse so under loud hollers and whistles, Jaehyun and he danced around the room. It felt great, being able to dance and see the smiles on the boys’ faces, knowing they were kind and understanding people.

After everyone was satisfied with Taeyong and Jaehyun’s showcase, they continued talking about what everyone liked, disliked, how they had come to know each other and a lot more. They laughed a lot and Taeyong’s heart was light, glad to know Mark would be in good hands if he stayed with Jihyun, though there was still a part of him that didn’t want to let his little brother go.

¤¤¤

“Taeyong, can I talk to you in private for a bit?”

Taeyong looked up from where he had been carding his hands through Jaehyun’s hair.

After everything had calmed down a little, Jisung and Chenle had excused themselves and the conversations had died down a little, Jeno, Jaemin and Renjun talking between themselves as Taeyong, Jaehyun and Donghyuck sat in relative silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable, especially when Jaehyun laid his head down in Taeyong’s lap and closed his eyes.

Now, Donghyuck was looking at Taeyong with a shy smile and a tilted head and Taeyong couldn’t bring himself to say no. So he gently nudged Jaehyun’s head to get his boyfriend to get up. Jaehyun groaned but complied, immediately scuttling over to Renjun and the other boys, easily mixing in with them.

Taeyong got up just as Donghyuck did and the younger boy led him out of the room, entering a smaller one through a door by the side.

The room didn’t have any furniture or anything. It would have looked abandoned if it hadn’t been for the clean state the room was in.

Shaking his head, Taeyong got his thoughts off of the room, choosing to focus on Donghyuck instead who looked a little nervous. The boy was playing with the hem of his shirt and not looking Taeyong but at the ground. Taeyong wondered what he wanted to talk about, especially since he specifically requested it to be in private.

Donghyuck took a few deep breaths before he cleared his throat and mumbled, “I’m really worried about Mark.”

Taeyong had to step a little closer because of how quiet Donghyuck was and startled as he saw tears glistening in the boy’s eyes.

Before Taeyong could say or do anything, Donghyuck continued, “He barely sleeps and now that he’s all over the place, so much so that I haven’t seen him in over a day, I doubt it’ll get better.” Donghyuck sighed and buried his face in his hands, resulting in his next word coming out a little muffled. “I’d like to help him but I have personal reasons as to why I can’t continue what I’ve been doing to help him until now. It’s really bothering me especially because I doubt Mark would care for himself and Johnny can only do as much as Mark lets him. I’d like to ask if you could somehow get Mark to take better care of himself.”

It hit Taeyong then, what had been at the back of his mind when Donghyuck had first told him about being worried for Mark. His mother had said something about it being possible that Donghyuck liked Mark and Mark liked him back. Taeyong didn’t know how he could have been so oblivious when half of the letters he had received from Mark read a little like love letters to Donghyuck.

Gently, Taeyong laid a hand on Donghyuck’s shoulder. Donghyuck lifted his head out of his hands, looking at Taeyong with glassy eyes and furrowed brows as if there was a possibility Taeyong wouldn’t comply with his request. Why Donghyuck couldn’t help Mark himself was something Taeyong would like to know but since Donghyuck said it was personal, he didn’t dare ask.

“Of course I’ll help,” Taeyong answered, smiling softly to reassure Donghyuck. “Mark may be stubborn but I am as well and he isn’t going to ruin his health under my watch.”

Donghyuck smiled back a little more hesitantly and whispered, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” was all Taeyong replied before pulling the younger boy into a hug. He felt like Donghyuck needed a hug right then and what kind of big brother would Taeyong be if he couldn’t even provide that?

¤¤¤

For the first time in years, Taeyong skipped dinner. He doubted he would see Mark there and the conversations were always stilted. Choonhee only rambled and rambled, refusing to notice that nobody was in the mood to talk. And so, Taeyong skipped dinner and headed straight for Mark’s chambers.

Much to his surprise, Johnny was actually standing in front of the door, meaning Mark was inside. Taeyong greeted Johnny warmly and then left Jaehyun with him, wanting to be alone with Mark for the conversation that was going to happen.

Jaehyun placed a soft kiss on Taeyong’s forehead and wished him luck before moving to talk with Johnny about something or another.

Taeyong took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside.

Mark was sitting at the table, head in his hands, eyes closed. He was stressed. Taeyong could tell even without having to look at his eyes. Mark was even paler than he was normally and the shadows under his eyes were big. It wasn’t hard to tell that he was thinking about something, as he groaned and rubbed his temples, showing his frustration.

“Mark,” Taeyong said quietly, stepping closer. Mark looked up and, god, he looked tired. His eyes weren’t even open all the way and they looked halfway to dead. “You have to rest, Mark. You can’t carry on like this.”

Mark blinked slowly before shrugging and leaning back in his chair, staring at the ceiling as he replied, “Who cares anyways? Everything sucks and I can’t do anything against it. If I faint at the wedding it will at least be postponed.”

Taeyong sighed, finally reaching Mark and gently carding his hand through his younger brother’s hair. Mark redirected his gaze to look at him and mustered a very very small but genuine smile. It hurt Taeyong to see Mark like this. His little brother wasn’t supposed to suffer. Weddings were supposed to be something beautiful, everyone could have fun with.

Before Taeyong could urge him again to go to sleep, Mark huffed and got up, stretching.

“What use does it even have to plan all this? It’s a day both Jihyun and I are going to despise. Neither of us gain anything from this wedding and I can never be with the person I _am_ interested in after it.” Mark sighed and shook his head. “God, he wouldn’t even like me back anyways. Why would he like me when he’s so perfect? He deserves someone way better. He hasn’t even come to see me today. I’m sure he’s already fed up with how dependant I am on him. I’m so pathetic.”

Mark was rambling to himself, Taeyong was perfectly aware of that, and yet it kind of pissed him off. It sounded like Mark didn’t even think of the possibility that Donghyuck _did_ look for him, that he hadn’t had the chance to go see him. Taeyong loved his brother, he truly did, but Mark was spewing nonsense and if he didn’t sleep enough, his rationality just turned off.

“Shut up and listen to yourself for a second, Mark,” Taeyong interrupted his brother’s insistent rambling and Mark stopped abruptly, turning to Taeyong with wide eyes. “Do you really think Donghyuck is fed up with you? This is _exactly_ why you need to rest. You can’t even think rationally anymore.”

Mark clenched his jaw and crossed his arms over his chest, sneering.

“What do _you_ know? You’ve only ever talked to him once, haven’t you?”

Taeyong scoffed, rolling his eyes. This wasn’t going well but he had to get it out and make Mark understand that the world wasn’t falling apart, he was just sleep deprived, so he retorted, “I’ll have you know that I got to know him a lot better today. This isn’t about Donghyuck anyways. This is about you being overworked and tired and in dire need of sleep. Donghyuck cares a lot for you and he likes you, alright? Still, you were so busy and no where to find, of course he couldn’t find you. Mark, do you ever think about how so many people have so many different stories?”

Taeyong would have continued but Mark interrupted him, scowling, “Don't even get started. We can have different stories all we want but it doesn't change the things that's present in all of them. So don't try to give me hope for something that can never _ever_ exist.”

They just stood, glaring at each other after that. Taeyong could understand Mark to some extend but still he was disappointed in his brother as much as he was worried about him.

With a huff, Taeyong turned around, stalking out of the room. He was pretty sure he heard a chair scraping on the floor but he didn’t dare to turn around, not wanting to bring tears to his own eyes as he already started to regret what he had said.

“Give him a sleeping remedy. Mix it in with his tea or something and don’t let him out of your eyes,” Taeyong threw over his shoulder, continuing towards his room. Neither Johnny nor Jaehyun followed him and Taeyong was grateful for that. He didn’t think he could handle someone wanting him to tell them what had happened.

Just as Taeyong turned a corner he bumped into someone, only being saved from falling on the hard floor by someone grabbing his arm and helping him stand upright again.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Taeyong apologized, bowing.

“No, no, no. It’s my fault, you’re fine.”

Lifting his head again, Taeyong looked straight at two extremely handsome men. The shorter one with long hair and a multitude of piercings was waving his hands, assuring Taeyong that everything was fine. The taller, tanner one, was nodding along and smiling warmly. Taeyong wondered if he had seen them before but he wasn’t able to confirm or deny it as the shorter man suddenly stopped rambling as someone called, “Yuta! There you are, get over here quickly.”

“I apologize again,” the man, Yuta, Taeyong supposed, said then, bowing before hurrying away. The taller bowed as well and followed after Yuta.

After that, Taeyong made his way to his and Jaehyun’s chambers more slowly. He was sure he had met that man before. But where?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am finished with my a paper and free until I have to prepare for the presentation and study for midterms. I've got about a month before my first exam but at least it's a little time. 
> 
> By the way, I feel like I should include Shotaro and Sungchan now but I don't know how because I've already established all of the relationships and I don't know their personalities enough to be confident to write them. I'm thinking about maybe including them later on when we know more about them.
> 
> Oh, and, much like last month, this may be the only chapter in October 'cause I may not have to write any papers anymore but I have to work and then I'm not home for about half a week so we'll see :)


	16. Comfort Food

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite dialogue heavy so I hope it doesn't feel too awkwardly written. If you have any tips on how to improve my dialogue game they are more than welcome :)

Mark didn’t remember when, why or _how_ he fell asleep but waking up to the sun almost high in the sky was something he definitely hadn’t seen in quite a while. Even when Donghyuck had still sung for him, Mark had never had the chance of sleeping in. And considering the tight schedule he had it surprised him Johnny hadn’t woken him up.

Frowning, Mark sat up and looked around the room. The last thing he remembered was butting heads with Taeyong. Mark groaned and buried his face in his hands. Why did he have to be so prickly just because he basically hadn’t slept at all and hadn’t seen Donghyuck in two days?

“God, why did he even know who I was talking about?” Mark mumbled to himself. He was pretty sure that he never said anything about liking Donghyuck to anyone and even Jihyun hadn’t said anything to him about it so he had thought he had been pretty good at hiding it. But if Taeyong, strangely oblivious but observant at the same time, knew about it, maybe he hadn’t been good enough.

Whining, Mark dropped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. He didn’t leave things with Taeyong the way they had left it the day before but he had a lot of meetings to attend and- The meetings!

Mark sat up abruptly and practically jumped out of bed, hastily changing his clothes before bursting out of the room. Johnny stood next to the door like he usually did and raised his brows at Mark, asking, “What’s gotten into you?”

“The meetings Johnny! I can’t miss them, what if they decide something we’re gonna hate? I can’t have that happen!”

Johnny sighed and shook his head, laying a calming hand on Mark’s shoulder. His gaze was soft and his smile even softer as the other hand lifted to caress Mark’s head.

“Don’t worry, we arranged for them to be postponed for a little while.” Johnny patted Mark’s cheek. “The queen acknowledged that you were very busy the last few days so she agreed to have them held after lunch. They’re going to last a little longer though. It seems she doesn’t want to have even the slightest bit of change in her schedule of which meeting is on which day.”

Mark nodded slowly and pressed his lips together, thinking about all of the inconveniences he must have caused. He might not agree with this whole arrangement but he never wanted to cause any trouble, especially now in such a stress filled time.

Johnny sighed and shook his head slightly, flicking Mark’s forehead. The prince winced and quickly covered his forehead with his hands as he looked up at Johnny with furrowed eyebrows. Johnny barely ever hurt Mark, not even when they fought playfully so that flick was somewhat of a sign of how resigned Johnny was.

“I told you not to worry,” Johnny scolded, hands on his hips. “So don’t you dare look like that. You didn’t do anything wrong and no one is mad at you so stop trying to complicate things where there’s nothing to complicate.”

Mark pouted but nodded and opened his mouth to tell Johnny that he would try not to worry too much, when someone called, “Prince Minhyung! Johnny! Hurry up, the first meeting is starting in a few minutes.”

Both Mark and Johnny looked up, spotting Eunha hurrying towards them, several papers in her hands and her hair just a bit of a mess. Mark furrowed his brows and glanced at Johnny who shook his head and shrugged. It definitely wasn’t after lunch yet and as much as Mark disagreed with Choonhee, she was a woman of her word. It didn’t make sense for the meetings to start already.

Eunha was panting when she finally stood before Mark and Johnny, bending over to catch her breath. Worried, Mark stepped forward and reached out but luckily he remembered in time that they weren’t supposed to be friends in front of the other nobles and servants. Pressing his lips together, Mark retracted his hand and asked, “What are you talking about, Lady Song? I’ve been told the meetings were going to start after lunch.”

Eunha nodded and rightened herself again, taking a deep breath before answering, “Unfortunately, most of the designers do not have the time to postpone the meeting on such short notice so we will have to hold that meeting first. They’re all waiting for you, we should really hurry.”

Without further explanation, Eunha urged Mark and Johnny to follow her, half running, half speed walking through the castle to one of the biggest meeting rooms. Everyone was already seated, Jihyun at the head of the table, an empty chair next to her, the designers all sitting around the big table. There were at least twenty men and woman with stacks of papers in front of them, presumably their designs for Jihyun’s dress and Mark’s uniform.

Bowing, Mark entered the room and strode over to his place next to Jihyun with his head held high. He felt a little bad making them wait but then again, he hadn’t known about this in the first place. They didn’t seem too bothered either, just a few throwing Mark apprehensive glances.

When Mark was seated, Johnny had taken his place behind him and Eunha gestured at an elderly man to begin the meeting, Mark didn’t have time to think about anything else anymore.

¤¤¤

“No, the white would make it too bright!”

“Are _you_ really criticising _me_ right now, Lady Soon? Your sparkles would be all over the floor how do you imagine them to stick to the dress, huh?”

“Please calm down, as far as I’m concerned, neither of you are in the right. The princess should wear something of colour, maybe a few gold threads woven into it.”

“ _Huh_?!”

Mark groaned quietly and pressed his hands to his temples. Non of the designers seemed to agree with anyone else and they hadn’t come further than they had been at the beginning of the meeting. No one was willing to compromise or even think about asking what Jihyun or Mark wanted. It was loud and headache inducing and when Mark glanced over to Jihyun, he could tell she thought the same. She was leaning back in her chair, looking exhausted from just listening to all the ruckus.

Johnny, Ten and Eunha were quietly whispering about something behind them and Mark had enough. He stood up and smacked his palms on the table, getting the noisy designers to finally calm down and pay attention to him. Mark tried to look like he wasn’t annoyed, calmly proclaiming, “We’re going to end this meeting now. I appreciate your enthusiasm and I’m sure the princess feels the same but we have other meetings to attend. Please turn in your favourite designs to either our guards or Lady Song. We will review them and see what we prefer. During the next meeting we will present them and hopefully come to a conclusion then.”

A murmur went through the designers but nobody dared to oppose so one after one they got up and turned in their designs before bowing and exiting the room.

When every single one of them left, Mark let out a sigh and slumped into his seat, eyes closed. He didn’t even do anything and he felt the exhaustion in his bones. Almost every meeting was like this if it didn’t concern the venue or what kind of music would play. Since they were only allowed freedom in those aspects, everything else was decided by people who actually knew what they were talking about.

“Thanks, Mark,” Jihyun groaned and Mark opened his eyes again to look at her. She smiled at him and took his hand, squeezing it. Her gaze said everything that had to be said considering the secret meeting she had held the day before. Mark sighed in relief and smiled back.

“I’m glad,” he said and Jihyun nodded, letting go of Mark’s hand and getting up.

“The next meeting is about the food and I don’t think we should leave Doyoung to wait for us because he might like me but he can’t show that in front of the others.”

Mark nodded and got up as well. He wondered why they didn’t just hold the meetings in one room but Jihyun didn’t know either and so they walked through the castle in their little group of five. Jihyun and Mark walked as far apart as they could without seeming like they hated each other and their friends trailed behind them.

Before they reached the Great Hall however, Mark was stopped by Renjun. The smaller boy was holding a box in his hands and clapped Mark on the shoulder before giving it to him.

“You haven’t eaten properly in days and I can’t have that happen to you so I made you some snacks,” Renjun explained. Before Mark could thank him, he continued, “I’m seriously worried about you, your sleep is probably fucked, you barely eat and you look more and more exhausted every day. Please just take a break or something. Also, go make up with your brother.” Mark winced. Taeyong had totally slipped his mind in all of the chaos. Surely, his brother was hurt by Mark’s outburst yesterday and Mark couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Renjun shook his head and sighed, hands on his hips as he complained, “He even came to me, _to me_ , to whine about it. And you know he only ever comes to me when he definitely wants it to reach you. So get your head out of your ass and go talk to him.”

Mark nodded and pressed his lips together. He hadn’t wanted to worry anyone but now he could see that that just wasn’t possible with how caring his friends were. When he had time he would definitely go and apologize to Taeyong.

Just as he was about to say that, Jihyun, who had walked further, called, “Prince Minhyung, please hurry, the chefs are waiting.”

Mark hurriedly thanked Renjun and then followed after Jihyun. Maybe he wouldn’t even have time to eat the snacks.

¤¤¤

  
Mark did have time to eat the snacks. However, the meetings dragged on and on and on, ending well in the night. Jihyun, Eunha, Johnny and Ten excused themselves to get their well deserved sleep and urged Mark to do the same but Mark had to give Renjun the box back first. Or at least he had to put it back into the kitchen because otherwise he would forget about it and he didn’t want to inconvenience Renjun.

So, his friends went their respective ways and Mark embarked on his quest to the kitchen. He didn’t expect anyone to still be in it, not at two in the morning with every normal person asleep. However, it seemed he was wrong.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, the light of a torch demanded his attention. At first, Mark thought somebody had just forgotten to extinguish it but when he got closer it was evident that someone was still in the kitchen. They were humming under their breath and moving about with their back to Mark.

As quietly as possible, Mark laid the box down on a table as to not disturb the person seemingly engrossed in their work. But Mark wouldn’t be Mark if he didn’t trip over nothing, knock over several pots and alert everyone in his vicinity of his existence. Making a face, Mark squeezed his eyes shut and slowly turned around to apologize for disturbing the peace of the night but when he opened his eyes again, not a single word wanted to come out of his mouth.

In front of him stood Donghyuck, hair tousled, wearing his sleeping clothes and a sandwich in his hand. He was staring at Mark with wide eyes and Mark stared back. It felt a little unreal for some reason, to see Donghyuck in the warm light of the torch in the middle of the night when they hadn’t seen each other for days.

Mark tried his luck with speaking once again, swallowing and apologizing, “Sorry. Um, I’ll- I’ll go…”

It was awkward. It was so awkward for some reason. Something didn’t feel right, like something changed during the time they didn’t see each other. It felt like they hadn’t seen each other for years, not just days, and like neither of them really knew what to say. Still, Donghyuck stepped forward before Mark could even move, shaking his head.

“No, no. Stay. Please.”

His voice was small, a little unsure but Mark stayed. Of course he stayed, how couldn’t he? He wanted to talk about something with Donghyuck but he didn’t know what. Nothing came to mind and so they continued to stand in silence, though Mark got himself to stand next to Donghyuck. Donghyuck turned around again and seemed to prepare another sandwich, though the other hadn’t even been bitten into yet. Mark thought the other boy just wanted something to do but he was proved wrong.

“Here,” Donghyuck said after a while, offering Mark the freshly made sandwich. “For you.”

“Thank you,” Mark mumbled and took it, careful not to touch Donghyuck. He felt like he would melt if he touched him so he silently took a bite of the sandwich. It wasn’t anything special but somehow, maybe because it was made by Donghyuck or because it was 2 a.m., it was the most delicious sandwich Mark ever had.

Donghyuck, tapped his foot against the floor once, twice, and then spoke, “It’s nice to see you again. Honestly, it was kind of weird not being with you all the time. I had so much time on my hands and nothing I wanted to do.” Donghyuck chuckled and Mark’s chest felt lighter. Maybe it wasn’t as awkward as he had thought it was. “Your brother is nice by the way. He got me to introduce him and Jaehyun to my friends yesterday, or well, the day before yesterday, I guess.”

Mark hummed, finally building up the courage to really look at Donghyuck. He had a soft smile on his face as he talked, probably recalling the day. Almost automatically, Mark smiled as well, happy that Taeyong was getting along with Donghyuck, though it also stung in his chest when he remembered their little dispute.

Taeyong had made an effort to get to know Mark’s new friends and Mark had snapped at him. Sighing, Mark leaned back, closing his eyes. He should really go and talk to his brother, apologize, but he still didn’t feel right. An apology wouldn’t cut it and Taeyong probably wasn’t awake at this time anyways.

Scowling, Mark opened his eyes again, coming face to face with a worried looking Donghyuck. Both of them startled a little and pulled back, Donghyuck avoiding Mark’s eyes. Mark was pretty sure the only time Donghyuck had been awake for as long as him had been when they had had their misunderstanding on Mark’s thoughts about Jihyun.

“Why are you still up?” Mark glanced at both of their sandwiches. “And making food?”

Donghyuck hummed and shrugged, leaning against the counter. He looked comfortable now, raking his hand through his hair and tilting his head.

“I just couldn’t sleep, I don’t know. It felt like I shouldn’t fall asleep so I thought that maybe I’m hungry so I came here to make myself something to eat and now-” Donghyuck glanced at Mark and grinned before looking away again. “Now you’re here. So I guess my feelings weren’t wrong.”

Mark snorted.

“So you’re saying, your body told you not to fall asleep just so that you could meet me?”

“Exactly.”

Mark shook his head, a fond smile on his face. He had almost forgotten just how at ease Donghyuck made him feel, how easy it was to relax around him, to be himself. Donghyuck smiled and Mark immediately felt better. He had missed that smile, he had missed Donghyuck.

Taeyong flashed before Mark’s eyes again and he groaned. Concerned, Donghyuck stepped closer, hand hovering over Mark’s shoulder.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, looking ready to catch Mark, should he just fall down for some reason. Mark nodded and held up a hand to signal Donghyuck that he was fine. This wasn’t a physical problem. For a second, Mark wondered whether he should tell Donghyuck about what happened and then he scolded himself for even thinking about not doing it.

“It’s just,” Mark began and Donghyuck immediately leaned closer, completely interested. “Taeyong and I had somewhat of an argument last night. Taeyong was just worried for me but I was sleep deprived and stressed and I blew up at him. I feel really bad but I don’t have the time to apologize to him.” Sighing, Mark rubbed his face. “I can’t not apologize to him and it’s really bothering me.”

Donghyuck hummed again and tapped his foot once, twice again, before admitting, “I saw him before I got in here. That was only a few minutes ago so he might still be awake. You could just go look, you know? It wouldn’t hurt anyone even if he is asleep now. And you could always just write a letter.”

Mark’s eyes lit up as he grinned at Donghyuck. He really needed him to get over stupid stuff, didn’t he?

“Hyuckie, you’re a genius!”

Donghyuck blushed slightly and shook his head, denying it. Mark laughed quietly and threw his arm around Donghyuck’s shoulders, feelings be damned. Donghyuck mumbled something under his breath that Mark didn’t catch but didn’t bother asking for. He would have said it clearer if he wanted Mark to know about it.

“Alright,” Mark finally said after letting go of Donghyuck again. “I’ll go see him now. Go to bed soon, Hyuck!”

He waved Donghyuck goodbye, feeling lighter after talking to him again, after being around him again. Donghyuck waved back, smiling and shaking his head before reaching for Mark’s barely touched sandwich.

¤¤¤

Taking a few deep breaths, Mark prepared himself for knocking on the door to Taeyong and Jaehyun’s room. He didn’t hear any movement or anything inside but that didn’t mean anything so Mark steeled himself and knocked, immediately followed by, “Taeyong, can we talk?”

It took a few seconds. In those seconds, Mark’s heart was beating out of his chest, mind supplying him with dozens and dozens of ways this could go wrong. Jaehyun could answer the door and slam it in his face for hurting Taeyong, Taeyong could answer the door and slam it in his face for hurting Taeyong, neither of them could answer the door because he hurt Taeyong.

The scenarios kept coming and coming and coming and then Taeyong opened the door, not slamming it in Mark’s face but falling right into his arms. Startled, Mark wrapped his arms around his brother and took a deep breath. Taeyong wasn’t mad or hurt enough to not want Mark to touch him. It wasn’t bad enough for them not to talk, for them to have to carefully mend their relationship back to together.

“You worried me, you dumbass,” Taeyong complained against Mark’s neck, voice muffled. “You were so stressed and sleep deprived. So much could have gone wrong if you carried on like that.”

Mark buried his nose in Taeyong’s hair and hugged his brother closer. Taeyong was always watching out for him, always worried, always wanting the best. No matter how stressed he was, he should’ve never snapped at him like that.

“I’m sorry,” Mark mumbled as Taeyong pulled him inside the room and closed the door behind them. Jaehyun was sleeping soundly on the bed, buried under thick blankets, only his hair giving away that he was that lump.

“I was a little delusional and I couldn’t think straight. And-” Mark took a deep breath, Taeyong took Mark’s hand. “And your comment about Donghyuck threw me off. It made me feel insecure because I thought I had hidden it so well but there you were, knowing about it. I made me fear that somehow Donghyuck knew too. It’s a dumb reason, I’m sorry.”

Taeyong shook his head and squeezed Mark’s hand. Smile as soft as ever as he whispered, “There’s nothing to apologize for, Mark. I get what you mean and I’m not mad at you, okay? So please don’t beat yourself up about it.”

Mark bit his lip but nodded. Taeyong carded his hand through Mark’s hair lovingly and hummed a song under his breath before sitting down and pulling Mark into his lap.

When they had been younger, Mark had sat in his lap almost everyday. Now, they barely did it anymore because Mark was just too big. Still, sometimes Taeyong would insist on it and Mark could never say no to him. He didn’t actually mind, it made him feel nice, like he was still young enough to not have any worries and just be loved by his mother and his brother.

“Everything’s going to be fine, Mark,” Taeyong murmured, hand caressing Mark’s back. “It doesn’t need to be perfect for it to be fine and you should always remember that. Nothing’s ever going to be exactly the way you want or need it but that doesn’t make it bad. Just think about the here and now and don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet. Cherish what you have now and care for it and then in the future it will pay off, I promise you.”

Mark nodded again, this time feeling better. Taeyong was always quite easy going but sometimes he would break out things like that with ease, somehow always lifting Mark’s mood.

Before Mark could get emotional however, Taeyong got him off his lap and out of the room, determinedly saying, “And now go to sleep you big baby.” Before slamming the door in Mark’s face.

Mark giggled and shook his head, wishing his brother a good night before trudging to his room. Tomorrow and all the days after, he would take the time for himself and Choonhee wouldn’t be able to stop him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again might be the only chapter this month, I'm sorry. I have my first midterm in three days and I'm already freaking out. Well, I write well when I should be focusing on something else so I might be able to finish the next chapter before midterms take over my life. 
> 
> I hope you're all doing well and aren't too fed up with my irregular uploading schedule :)


	17. Growing Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!  
> I tried to finish two chapters by Cristmas but school and my mental health wouldn't let me do it. Still, I'm hoping to get chapter 18 done before the end of the year and finally give you two chapters in one month like I said I would. I honestly don't think I'll be able to do it for every month though, so I'll have to retract my statement. One chapter a month is still the minimum but don't hope for more. I did not take school into consideration, like, how the fuck is online class more difficult than in person?
> 
> Anyways, I hope you like this chapter :)

Donghyuck felt better after talking with Mark. He felt so much better in fact that he finished all his chores in record time and was now bored out of his mind. 

This boredom led to Donghyuck slipping into the kitchen just in time to hear Doyoung announce, “I need someone to pick something up from me. I think you all know the little Miss Nola. She’s prepared several, very important things for me so it is essential that I get them by today, not only for inspection but because they are of great importance. Do any of you think you’ve got enough time on your hands to do this for me?” 

None of the kitchen staff raised their hands, only glancing around. If Donghyuck was part of the kitchen staff he wouldn’t want to volunteer either. The way Doyoung had worded it, it sounded like he’d keep a very close eye on whoever dared to say they had enough time. Donghyuck didn’t mind sacrificing himself. 

“I can do it,” he offered, stepping out from where he had stood at the door. Doyoung turned around, eyebrows raised and looking a little bit surprised at Donghyuck’s sudden appearance. Still, he recovered quickly, a small smile on his face, relief of not having to send any of his staff evident as he said, “Thank you, Donghyuck, that would help a lot. You know where Miss Nola resides, right?” 

Donghyuck nodded and Doyoung dismissed the staff, telling them to go back to work again. Doyoung turned back to Donghyuck again to explain what exactly he had to do, when he was interrupted by Renjun. 

“Um, excuse me, but would it be acceptable if I went with Donghyuck?” he asked and Doyoung’s eyebrows rose again as he looked at the boy. Renjun rubbed his neck, mumbling, “I just think two would be better than one and I’m not really employed here or anything.” 

Doyoung laughed, warranting a few startled looks by the kitchen staff. The man wasn’t exactly known for his sunny attitude but Donghyuck thought Doyoung had a very nice laugh and the way his face scrunched up looked very cute. Too bad he was too old and Donghyuck already had an unfortunate crush on someone else. 

“Sure, you can go with him,” Doyoung allowed Renjun, still chuckling behind his hand. Renjun and Donghyuck glanced at each other and it seemed like neither of them knew why exactly Doyoung was laughing but it wasn’t like they had anything against it. 

When Doyoung finally pulled himself together again, he cleared his throat and beckoned Donghyuck and Renjun closer before explaining, “I need you guys to be very discreet about it. This is a bit of an unofficial thing so I was honestly hoping for either Jaemin or Renjun to volunteer in the first place. I’m pretty sure I can trust you guys.” Donghyuck’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. He hadn’t picked Doyoung to be doing something behind anyone’s back. “Just tell Nola that I sent you, she knows you anyways, and everything should go smoothly. You don’t have to hurry by the way, it’s fine if you want to do something else first as long as you come back before tomorrow. I’d be worried about you otherwise.” 

Both Donghyuck and Renjun nodded, promising Doyoung they would even be back before nightbreak. Doyoung, shook his head, chuckling again and told them he took their word for it. 

He then handed them a quite large basket and sent them off. Donghyuck caught Jaemin’s questioning gaze as Renjun and he were ushered out of the kitchen by Doyoung but Donghyuck only shrugged. He didn’t exactly know what was going on here and even if he did, he wouldn’t tell Jaemin because he may be his best friend but Donghyuck knew how to keep secrets that weren’t his to tell. 

Donghyuck and Renjun walked down the hallway a bit before Renjun let out a sigh. The boy’s shoulder’s slumped and he rolled his neck leisurely. 

“Did you just want to get out or did you have other ulterior motives?” Donghyuck asked the smaller boy, grinning widely. Renjun rolled his eyes in response but he was grinning as well when he answered, “I might or might not have been getting sick from all those different scents.” Renjun wrinkled his nose. “No offence but you guys should really learn a thing or two from our kitchen. We've got some kind of system to, well, filter isn't really the word I'm looking for but I'll use it, to filter the scents so that it doesn't get overwhelming.” 

Donghyuck barked out a laugh, adjusting the basket in his hands. 

“You'll have to go to Doyoung for that. I can't help you, sadly.” 

Renjun waved dismissively and shook his head. 

They were silent after that. Donghyuck flagged down Sungchan, one of the servants responsible for who does and doesn't get a carriage. He stated their purpose and was promptly provided with a quite spacious carriage and a patient coachman that apparently wouldn't mind if they took for forever to do whatever they wanted to do in town. 

Both Donghyuck and Renjun thanked Sungchan but the boy told them not to worry about it. It was his job after all. 

“Let’s go then,” Donghyuck nodded, climbing into the carriage and Renjun went in after him. 

“Let’s do our secret mission.” 

¤¤¤ 

“So, I heard you and Mark met early in the morning?” 

Donghyuck’s eyebrows shot up at Renjun’s question. The other boy only continued looking out of the carriage, pretending like he didn’t see the exact same scenery when they went to town together on the day of the festival. Clearing his throat and trying to seem unaffected by what Renjun just said, Donghyuck asked, “And where exactly did you hear that?” 

“Jaemin,” Renjun answered coolly, finally redirecting his gaze to Donghyuck. “He came back early in the morning today and told me in the most excited voice that he saw you two standing in the kitchen, enjoying some sandwiches together. Honestly, I don’t know if he painted the picture a bit too optimistically though. I mean, he told me you guys were having a very intimate moment.” 

Donghyuck groaned and hid his face behind his hands, complaining, “Why was everyone awake so late? Mark, Taeyong, Jaemin and even you. Honestly, I expected better of you. And no, we did not share an intimate moment, we just talked a little and I helped Mark get his shit together.” Donghyuck frowned, removing his hands from hid face to look up at Renjun again. “Wait, did you just say that Jaemin came _back_?” 

Renjun nodded and chuckled at Donghyuck’s face painted in disbelief. He explained to the younger boy that Jaemin took to sleeping in Jeno’s room lately and would only return to their shared room if he woke up in the night before they were supposed to be up. Donghyuck scoffed and rolled his eyes at his best friend’s antics. It wasn’t like anyone would even care if Jaemin decided to move into Jeno’s room permanently. 

“Still,” Renjun began, nodding his head. “There must’ve been some truth to Jaemin’s words at least. He wouldn’t have warped reality that much.” 

Donghyuck sighed and leaned back. He didn’t know why exactly Renjun was that invested in what was going on between Mark and Donghyuck, not that there was anything going on, but he supposed it had something to do with being Mark’s best friend. If he was in the same situation Renjun was in, he would probably be interested as well. 

They didn’t talk a lot after that, just a bit about the scenery and the tasks they should perform for the next few days. Renjun kept quiet, thankfully, and allowed Donghyuck to pretend like he wasn’t thinking about Mark all the time. 

¤¤¤ 

Renjun groaned as they got out of the carriage, pressing his hands to his back like an old man. Donghyuck rolled his eyes but didn’t comment on it, only taking the basket from beside him and following after the older boy. They’d have to visit Miss Nola first since Donghyuck didn’t want to risk forgetting about it and having to bother her after she closed her shop.

Miss Nola was a very kind, young girl. She ran her own shop, selling various things. Some even said she was a witch and offered special potions to the people she trusted. No one had ever really confirmed or denied it but Donghyuck didn’t mind anyways as long as she continued to sell her beautiful decorations. 

“This way,” Donghyuck mumbled, grabbing Renjun’s sleeve. Renjun came to an abrupt stop, almost choking on his collar. Donghyuck didn’t know why Renjun had been the one walking in the front when he was completely clueless as to who Miss Nola even was. 

They took a trip down a dark alley. This wasn’t exactly the official way to get to Miss Nola’s shop but Donghyuck was one of her regulars and also one of her favourites so she gave him a pass to come through the back door and be the priority unless another regular was already visiting. Renjun was clinging to Donghyuck like his life depended like it, though he pretended not to be scared when Donghyuck so much as looked at him. 

When Donghyuck knocked on the door, it opened before he could even think of placing his own hand on the door knob. He didn’t exactly have to knock but he always did just to be cautious. Today though, Miss Nora stood in front of him already in all her glory. 

Miss Nola was a petite girl with wavy blonde hair and green eyes. If she wasn’t a witch, she was a fairy and no one could convince Donghyuck otherwise. Her teeth were small as well, perfectly white as she smiled at Donghyuck and Renjun, stepping sideways to let them in as she greeted, “Hi, Donghyuck. I see you’ve brought a friend with you. What’s your name?” 

Renjun finally let go of Donghyuck’s arm and cleared his throat, seemingly in awe of Miss Nora. Donghyuck could completely understand him. 

“I’m Huang Renjun,” Renjun answered and Miss Nola’s smile got brighter. She hooked their arms and pulled Renjun with her to the front, completely disregarding Donghyuck as she talked excitedly about something or another. Donghyuck chuckled and shook his head, following after them. 

“Miss Nola, we’re here for a reason you know,” Donghyuck grinned and Miss Nola shut up at once, seemingly remembering that she was, indeed, running a shop and not just meeting up with friends. She blushed a little and cleared her throat, letting go of Renjun to turn and look at Donghyuck again. 

“Of course,” she started, straightening her posture. “You’re here in place of Doyoung, right? Ah, that boy is going to be the death of me, asking for something that rare on such short notice. Well, I could get it obviously but he refused to tell me what it was for, not that he could ever keep secrets from me. He knows this of course but he likes to pretend like he doesn’t. What do you think of Doyoung, Renjun? Isn’t he just too cute? You actually kind of remind me of him.” 

Miss Nola flitted around while she was talking, not letting Donghyuck or Renjun get a word in as she gathered the ingredients Doyoung had asked for. Donghyuck always found it quite peculiar when Miss Nola called someone who was clearly older than her something that made it seem like they weren’t actually. She called Donghyuck ‘kid’ way too often for it to be on accident and Doyoung certainly wasn’t a boy anymore. 

Renjun glanced at Donghyuck but Donghyuck only shrugged. It was better not to question anything Miss Nola was saying. 

A few minutes later, everything was sorted into the basket but Miss Nola kicked Donghyuck and Renjun out without it, insisting that they should walk around town a little without the basket literally weighing them down. She said she would protect it with her life if it came down to it and giggled as she closed the door. 

“So...” Donghyuck began, facing Renjun who still seemed like he was trying to grasp what had just happened. “do you wanna do something particular or should I just show you around a bit?” 

Renjun hummed and tapped his chin. 

“I mean, this is an entirely different part of town than where we were for that festival so I don’t really know what there is to see. And I don’t have any money with me either so we’ll have to refrain from visiting any shops.” 

Donghyuck hummed, wrecking his brain, trying to find something in the area that was interesting enough to show a foreigner. His thoughts were interrupted by an excited scream. 

“Hey, Donghyuck! It’s been so long!” 

One second, Donghyuck was standing, the next his feet were off the ground and he was being swung around by a big puppy disguised as a human. 

“Yukhei,” Donghyuck breathed, “we saw each other, like, a week ago. And you said the same then but you didn’t _attack_ me and it definitely had been longer.” 

Yukhei set Donghyuck down just to pout and give him his best puppy eyes. Behind them, Renjun tentatively spoke, “Um, hi? I don’t think we know each other?” 

Yukhei’s attention was redirected to the smaller boy and a bright smile made its way onto his face as he held a hand out. Renjun took it just as Yukhei began excitedly rambling, “Hello, I’m Yukhei but if you want, you can call me Xuxi. Hyuck and I have known each other for really long but he can be a bit grumpy sometimes and act like he isn’t happy seeing me. You don’t look like you’re from around here, you’re also quite small, are you Renjun by any chance?” 

Renjun gaped as his eyes flicked between Yukhei and Donghyuck, asking for help. Donghyuck only shrugged. He neither knew how Yukhei even knew who Renjun was nor what exactly was happening right now. 

“Yeah, I’m Renjun,” Renjun finally answered Yukhei, smiling slightly. Yukhei grinned and threw an arm around Donghyuck’s shoulders, leaning on him as he explained, “Mark told me about you the day the princess took him to dance. I don’t remember how exactly we started to talk about you but he described you as quite savage. Small but fierce, from a kingdom other than ours or the Lee’s.” 

Donghyuck wondered just how comfortable Mark was with Yukhei when he’d barely talked with Donghyuck about Renjun in the beginning. Granted, Donghyuck had been just a little on guard and maybe had had a little hostility simmering underneath. Renjun hummed but Yukhei continued talking before he could respond. 

“Anyways, I heard you guys talking about what’s around here to see. If you’re interested, the Arch of Tears isn’t too far from here, just a few alleys down. Don’t worry, it’s not a sad story or anything, it’s actually a pretty happy one.” 

Donghyuck nodded, slipping away from under Yukhei’s arm. It was too heavy and there was a chance the tall boy would even lean on him when they were walking and Donghyuck didn’t want to risk it. Yukhei didn’t seem to mind, smile still on his face as he fell into step next to Renjun, the two of them getting to talking about something or another. 

Trailing after them, Donghyuck allowed his thoughts to wander. The way he saw it, Mark was to Renjun what Jaemin was to Donghyuck. His valued best friend and not someone you would ever wish any ill on, someone you would protect with your life if it came down to it. That was exactly why he couldn’t understand Renjun’s warm attitude towards Donghyuck. Sure, Mark and he were friends but would you tell your friend’s friend to back off if they have a crush that could never lead anywhere? Not just to protect your friend from being caught in a confession they would have to reject but also to just help that lost person? So why didn’t Renjun discourage him? 

He never directly told him to back off unless he wanted to get hurt. He never said Mark would never like him that way. He never even tried to make him see that it wouldn’t work out between a royal and a servant, no matter how good their friendship was. 

It bothered Donghyuck in a way, knowing in some way or another that Renjun didn’t seem to mind Donghyuck having feelings for Mark. He even said he’d be there if Donghyuck ever wanted to talk about Mark to anyone. What was Donghyuck supposed to take from that? 

“Donghyuck, are you listening?” 

Donghyuck halted in his steps and looked up, completely lost for a second as he looked around. Yukhei and Renjun were still in front of him, looking back. They were standing in front of the Arch of Tears, Renjun’s eyebrows lifted up as he tilted his head. 

“No, sorry,” Donghyuck apologized and stepped closer to the two. “What were you saying?” 

Yukhei shook his head but smiled nonetheless, explaining, “I just asked you if you wanted to tell the story or if I should. Renjun doesn’t really mind and I don’t really care either so it’s all up to you. I’d be happy to do it if you don’t want to thought. You know it’s one of my favourite stories.” 

Donghyuck hummed. He liked listening to Yukhei tell stories. The boy was normally very bright and seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world but when he told stories they always seemed to come to life. So he smiled and said, “Go ahead then, I won’t stop you. I think we should sit down for it though.” 

And so, the three of them, sat down on a nearby bench, making themselves comfortable before Yukhei began. 

Donghyuck knew the story by heart and he was only listening with half an ear, instead choosing to watch Renjun as Yukhei talked about the empress that rose from nothing but gave the people everything. It was a very nice story all about equality and the believe of letting people live their lives their way they want without interfering in something that you have nothing to do with. 

Renjun’s eyes were wide open and there was a small smile the whole time Yukhei told the story. He even clapped when the tall boy finished and spoke, “That’s awesome. I’ve never heard of that story before. You know, that empress really reminds me of someone, though he doesn’t get to be emperor, I guess.” 

Donghyuck furrowed his brows as he asked himself who could remind Renjun of empress Gyunhui and whether he knew that person. Yukhei, however, didn’t keep to thinking to himself, instead asking, straight-up, “Oh, are you talking about Mark or something?” 

Before Donghyuck could even comprehend what Yukhei had just implied, Renjun was already laughing. The small boy was clutching his stomach and doubling over, apparently finding the whole thing extremely funny. Yukhei turned to look at Donghyuck questioningly but Donghyuck could only shrug. He had no idea why Renjun’s reaction was so extreme. 

When Renjun calmed down enough to answer, his words didn’t really make anything any clearer. 

“No, no, Mark was born a royal. And, honestly, I don’t think he’s ever going to be king if things develop in our favour. He never wanted to be, considering how free spirited he is.” 

“Wait,” Yukhei interrupted, furrowing his brows Renjun hummed and gestured for him to talk. Yukhei glanced at Donghyuck before asking the exact same he thing the younger boy had asked himself. 

“Are you saying Mark isn’t made to be king?” 

Renjun shook his head. He didn’t seem too surprised by the question though, as he answered, “Not at all, I actually believe he would be a great king. The problem is the following, he neither likes the position nor all the duties that come with it. He would rule wisely and wouldn’t put anyone at a disadvantage but there are still etiquettes and rules that come with being king that he’s not bound by if he stays as a prince. As long as he doesn’t have to, he won’t be king.” 

Yukhei pressed his lips together but smiled, it seemed a bit strained though as he commented, “Then it’s good that he’s got an older brother, right? Arranged marriages are so out of style anyways, haha.” 

For a second, Donghyuck was thrown off by the fact that Yukhei had just said _haha_ out loud. First of all, it was weird, second of all, he’d never done that before so why now? As far as Donghyuck was concerned, it did not make any sense whatsoever. 

Renjun, however, took it in his stride, laughing and clapping Yukhei on the back. He got up and stretched before turning back. Donghyuck looked up at him and wondered why he didn’t seem fazed at all by Yukhei’s weird behaviour, not to mention that Yukhei had just alluded exactly to what was happening with Mark and Jihyun right now. 

“Well boys, this was nice and all but I’m honestly a bit hungry. Is there somewhere we could eat something? I’ll pay you back, I promise.” He put his hands together and basically pleaded with his eyes. Donghyuck’s stomach chose that moment to growl and Yukhei immediately sprung up, gripping Donghyuck’s arm to pull him up as well. 

“Don’t worry about paying, I’ll treat you. To celebrate Renjun’s and my new-found friendship!” 

¤¤¤ 

Spending time with Yukhei and Renjun was way more fun than Donghyuck had anticipated. They played off of each other well and they all had the same humour. All of them could tell stories of their respective countries and Donghyuck felt so at ease, he didn’t even notice it getting dark outside. It was Yukhei who drew their attention to it. 

“Hey guys, don’t you have to get back to the castle? ‘Cause it’s getting quite dark and I don’t know if the coachman would appreciate you guys coming back so late.” He worriedly pointed outside, the sun already setting. Donghyuck and Renjun looked at each other, Donghyuck tilting his head, silently asking whether if wanted to get back. Renjun smiled and got up, declaring, “Well, we should get going then. Are you going to accompany us, Yukhei?” 

Yukhei glanced at the watch over the door and shook his head as he apologized, “Sorry, but Yuta is expecting me back soon and I also have to head out now if I don’t wanna be late.” 

They bid their goodbye’s, Donghyuck and Renjun heading back to Miss Nola’s to get the basket, and Yukhei going his own way to meet with Yuta. He made Donghyuck promise to write him more often though, only relenting when Donghyuck agreed on at least a letter a month if they didn’t see each other for the first two weeks. 

“I like Yukhei, he’s a bit like an overexcited puppy,” Renjun chuckled as they walked through the alleys and Donghyuck agreed, remembering the time he’d found the tall boy snuggling with several strays in a back alley, completely disregarding that he was wearing his best clothes. 

Donghyuck and Renjun talked about the day they had, reminiscing already. It made the time pass by faster than normally and soon they were standing in front of Miss Nola’s shop again. It would have been closed normally but there were still a few lights on and Miss Nola was sitting at her desk that was viewable from outside. There was not only Doyoung’s basket resting next to her on the desk but also a smaller one, woven out of what seemed like a fancy material. At least Donghyuck was sure it wasn’t made out of bark like Doyoung’s was. 

He opened the door and waited for Renjun to step inside before following after him. Miss Nola looked up from where she had been writing something and smiled as her eyes landed on the two boys entering her shop. She stood up and took both baskets, walking around the desk to meet the two halfway. 

“This is for you,” she started, handing Donghyuck Doyoung’s basket, “and this is for you.” She handed Renjun the smaller basket with a soft smile. Renjun looked just as confused as Donghyuck felt. They hadn’t said anything to her about wanting something, not to mention that that basket seemed pretty expensive. 

“Um, I’m sorry but I don’t think I should be getting this?” Renjun tilted his head and stretched out his arms towards Miss Nola but she only grinned and pat his shoulder, replying, “You definitely should. You’ve been wanting to make that certain dessert ever since a few days ago, right? This is free of charge since I like you and it’s really needed right now and I’m not someone to disregard others just like that. Now hurry back boys, people are waiting for you back at the castle.” 

Donghyuck experienced major déjà vu as Renjun and he were pushed out of the shop again and the door fell closed behind them. They looked at each other and silently came to the mutual agreement of not turning back but heading straight to the carriage. 

As they walked through the streets, Donghyuck couldn’t help but wonder what Miss Nola had been talking about earlier. He didn’t dare to ask Renjun though, as the smaller boy seemed to be lost in thoughts, almost walking into a lantern and only avoiding it by being pulled to the side by Donghyuck. Renjun thanked him but immediately went back into his own world after that. 

It was a bit peculiar but Donghyuck supposed that’s how someone could get after meeting Miss Nola and being subjected to her ways. 

¤¤¤ 

“I can take it to the kitchen, don’t worry. You can go to bed if you want to since we don’t need both of us giving this to Doyoung and I need to get to the kitchen anyways,” Renjun said as he took the basket from Donghyuck’s hands. “I really enjoyed our trip today. We should go out more often.” 

And then he was gone, not letting Donghyuck get a word in or take the basket to Doyoung himself. Donghyuck supposed he couldn’t do anything against it now that Renjun was out of sight and he was actually kind of sleepy, considering how much he’d done today. Sighing, he made his way towards his chamber as he couldn’t help but think that Renjun was someone to be admired. He was loyal to Mark and thought about his well-being but at the same time, he made efforts to get closer to others and form relationships with people he might not even ever see again. Having a friend like Renjun sure was a blessing. 

Donghyuck made quick work of washing himself and slipping into his sleeping clothes before stretching and lying down in his bed. 

He hadn’t seen Mark for a whole day again but this time, he didn’t mind as much since he had enough interactions with his friends, new or old. There was no reason for him to become so dependent on Mark anyways no matter what he felt for him. It probably wasn’t healthy and would make him miserable in the end so it was better to just forget about Mark for the time being and pretend like he didn’t make Donghyuck’s heart skip with his dumb smile and his kind eyes. 

A soft knock sounded from the door, throwing Donghyuck off. None of his friends ever knocked and other than them, no one visited him in the middle of the night. At least normally. Did Renjun forget to tell him something? Had Doyoung wanted to talk to Donghyuck for some reason? 

With questions flying around in his head, Donghyuck got up from his bed and trudged through his chamber to open the door. In the hallway stood Mark, also clad in sleeping clothes but looking wide awake. Donghyuck raised an eyebrow wondering out loud, “What would the prince, Minhyung Lee himself, ever want from someone like me at a time like this?” 

Mark rolled his eyes but smiled, causing Donghyuck to grin, breaking the façade he’d tried to build in the span of a second. 

“I’m just-,” Mark began and cleared his throat. “Well, I wanted to ask you if you could sing me to sleep? You don’t have to stay over or anything! It’s really just the most effective and fastest way to get me to sleep so... yeah.” 

Donghyuck chuckled, shaking his head as he stepped out of his room. Mark had come to him personally just to ask whether Donghyuck would sing him to sleep, how could Donghyuck reject him? 

He may be tired himself but Mark’s well-being and sleep were definitely more important, considering his busy schedule. Donghyuck could sneak in naps here and there but that wasn’t an option for Mark so Donghyuck could sacrifice just a few minutes to help a friend out. Right, a friend, Mark was a friend. 

“Let’s go then,” Donghyuck said, smiling at Mark. The prince let out a breath and hurried to walk next to Donghyuck. 

And there they were, walking through deserted hallways, both trying to hold back their big smiles. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, now we've got Sungchan in here. What do you think Shotaro will be and when is he going to make an appearance?  
> Let's find out together in due time!


	18. Have it Your Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I basically finished this last second, considering that it's gonna be New Years Eve in a few hours, but it's still December so I did finish it in time. This chapter is a little shorter but it's more of a set up for the next one, though there are important things in here. There's a chance I'm going to finish the next chapter a little sooner too but since I'm not sure how long it's actually going to be, please don't kill me if I end up posting it at the end of January.

Since Choonhee had allowed Mark and Jihyun breaks from the meetings around meal time, Mark’s days had become a lot less fast paced. The meetings were still stressful and Mark could barely sleep during the night, head too full with decisions and questions and preferences of every single person he’d met with. 

That was exactly why Mark had asked Donghyuck to sing to him, securing himself a nice night's sleep even if Donghyuck hadn’t ended up staying. Really, Mark had sort of hoped the younger boy would slip into bed with him, stay until morning, ease a little of Mark’s ache or make it worse depending on how long Mark would have had to look at his sleeping form. 

However, when Mark had woken up this morning, there had been no Donghyuck, just the rising sun and a smiling Johnny. 

They’d held their first two meetings before breakfast, though the meal was spent in a more secluded room, away from any prying queens. Jihyun had eaten somewhere else as well, though it had not been with Mark. She’d barely spoken with Mark the whole day, looking somewhat distracted and unfocussed the whole time. It didn’t matter whether it had been during a meeting or not, Jihyun had not met anyone’s eyes, seemingly lost in thought. 

Ten and Johnny were talking about it just as their break for lunch began, everyone concerned for the princess. 

“And you’re sure nothing out of the ordinary happened or anything?” Johnny asked Ten, eyes staying on Jihyun who was slumped in her seat, cooks who had finally come to a decision dutifully avoiding her as they talked with Eunha just a little further away before they exited. 

Mark stood with the two personal guards, a nagging feeling at the back of his head, though Ten answered, “Of course not, what’s supposed to have happened? Jihyun hasn’t seen anyone but us and the attending servants, no unusual visitors or guests and she didn’t sneak out during the night or anything.” 

Ten sighed and raked a hand through his hair. He looked exhausted enough as it was, the burden of not knowing what was happening with Jihyun weighing him down even further. Johnny glanced around the room, making sure the five of them were the only ones in the room before he pulled Ten into his embrace, placing his cheek on his lover's hair. Ten basically melted into his arms and Mark decided that it was high time to leave them alone. 

As he didn’t want to disturb Eunha and Jihyun who were softly talking with each other either, Mark decided to just venture out by himself. 

Lunch was Mark’s least favourite meal, partly because he believed it should at least be placed equally far from breakfast and dinner but it wasn’t. Seeing his chance, Mark wandered off without notifying anyone where he was going in the hopes of evading the food. 

What he hadn’t counted on had been someone looking for him. That someone turned out to be Renjun, hurrying through the halls, eyes lighting up as they landed on Mark. Since the customs between master and servant where different here, he didn’t grab Mark’s arm like he normally would, not in front of all those other people roaming around. 

Instead, he came to a stop in front of Mark and bowed deeply before beginning to speak. 

“Somehow, I knew you’d be avoiding the meal so I came to find you beforehand. Don’t worry, I’m not going to force you to eat anything, I just made something I thought you might like. There’s plenty so if you want to share it with anyone, feel free to do so.” 

It was only then that Mark noticed the boxes in Renjun’s hands. They were quite big, made out of wood and usually Renjun used those to transport food around. Mark hadn’t been aware that he had brought them here, neither had he any idea what Renjun might have made for him since he had barely requested anything since they had come here. Renjun had always been good at knowing what Mark needed though, even without the prince saying anything. 

Carefully, Mark took the boxes as his eyes looked Renjun up and down. Somehow, he had a feeling that this wasn’t everything he’d come here to talk with him for. 

Renjun grinned, his eyes pointedly making their way to everyone else in the hallway. There was no way they could speak comfortably with so many ears around. Mark nodded but before he could take off, Renjun stopped him with, “Shall I carry that for you, Your Royal Highness.” 

Mark could see Renjun internally cringe at the title and he didn’t feel any better about it himself. It felt so uncomfortable to have his friend call him anything but his name but he supposed he’d have to deal with it in public for as long as he stayed here. So he nodded and gave Renjun a small smile as he handed the boxes back and took off towards his room. He doubted Johnny would be there if the state Ten had been in had been any indication. Mark could care for himself, not to mention that this was neither their home, nor any time to do anything to him so Johnny wasn’t considered neglecting his duties. 

“Mark, you do know that you have to eat decent meals, right?” Renjun asked when they had arrived, the door closed and the boxes on the table. Mark sighed but before he could respond, Renjun continued, “I know you’re not going to suddenly change and I’m not telling you to. But while we’re not in the Lee Queendom, at least attend every meal when you’re conscious enough to do so. What do you think Queen Choonhee would see in you if you don’t attend regularly?” 

“Ah come on, Junnie, missing it once wouldn’t hurt, right? I mean, Choonhee could probably care less whether I eat regularly or not. I’m just here to marry her daughter, nothing else,” Mark whined, pouting though he knew Renjun wasn’t affected by it. It was Renjun’s turn to sigh now and roll his eyes. 

“Alright, well, that wasn’t why I wanted to talk to you anyways,” he said, gesturing for Mark to take a seat as he took one himself. Mark followed, sitting down across from Renjun, eyes wide in anticipation of what Renjun wanted to say. “Look, Mark, I made this dessert that I know you love and do you know who else will love it?” Mark barely had time to shake his head. “Donghyuck. Not because it’s delicious, well, that’s also going to be a reason, but mainly because you got it for him and he’d probably like anything you’re going to give him. Do you understand what I’m getting at?” 

“Renjun,” Mark started, “you’re not gonna be any more successful with this than Taeyong. You know me and you know how I feel and even though I was so sure I was good at hiding, apparently I’m not. I don’t know what either of you are trying to achieve by telling me stuff like this but please just stop it, I don’t wanna hear about it anymore.” 

They looked at each other silently for a bit before Renjun slumped in his seat. 

“Fine, have it your way. Still, I’d like for you to distribute this to your friends here as I have other things to do today.” 

Renjun got up from his seat and walked across the room, smiling at Mark before slipping out of the room with the words, “You’re not the only person people care about around here.” 

¤¤¤ 

In the end, Mark had been persuaded to eat lunch by Taeyong who’d somehow always had a sixth sense for his little brother. Though Jaehyun hadn’t been able to get Mark out of it, together they’d been able to convince Taeyong to eat their meal not with the other royals but with their servant friends. 

That’s how they’d ended up with Jaemin, Chenle, Jeno and Donghyuck at one table, enjoying their meal in a secluded room Chenle had been so nice as to show them to. How Chenle out of all of them had known about it, Mark hadn’t dared to ask. 

Jisung hadn’t been able to come as he was tending to a patient, though Mark was just happy enough to be able to spend some more time with Chenle, only now noticing how little he had seen of his original manservant these last few months. Chenle, as Mark had anticipated, fit right in with the others. 

Everyone was joking with each other, bright smiles on their faces. 

When they were finished with their main course and had stacked up their dishes, Mark grabbed Renjun’s boxes and opened them for the first time. Inside was his favourite dessert, the one Renjun had brought the knowledge for from his own kingdom. He called it ‘Watermelon Sorbet’, though Mark neither knew how he did it, nor what exactly sorbet meant. All he knew was that it tasted delicious and since watermelon was his favourite fruit, it was even better. 

“What’s this?” Jaemin asked, turning the dessert in his hands to look at it from all angles. 

“It’s called a sorbet,” Jaehyun answered before anyone else could. “It’s a common dessert where Renjun and Chenle are from. There are many different tastes you could prepare it with but since Mark’s favourite fruit is watermelon, Renjun has taken to do it like this.” 

Jaemin hummed, sinking his spoon into the icy dessert and taking his first bite. Everyone was watching him in anticipation, waiting for the kitchen staff’s verdict. 

“It’s delicious, what the fuck?” Jaemin smacked his lips, taking another bite. “How the fuck did he do this, I have to ask him!” 

Sorbet still in his hand, Jaemin jumped up and hurried out of the room, leaving behind a stunned group. Jeno huffed and then broke into laughter, bending over the table and Donghyuck followed, though he leaned back. The rest, including Mark, started grinning as well. 

“That was kinda cute,” Chenle remarked and Jeno corrected him, saying, “That wasn’t only _kinda_ cute, it was down-right adorable.” 

“If he likes it so much,” Donghyuck started, lifting his spoon to take a bite himself, “then it has to taste heavenly.” 

Everyone, excluding Jeno, nodded and watched as Donghyuck and Jeno tasted watermelon Sorbet for the first time. Their eyes widened as they looked at each other, Jeno swallowing quickly to say, “This really is delicious. I’ve never tasted anything like this before. How did he make it so cold for so long?” 

Mark shrugged, so did Taeyong and Jaehyun, not even Chenle knew exactly how he did it since it was more important for him that it tasted good than how it was created. Donghyuck told Jeno that Jaemin would probably tell him later, being all fascinated by the method. 

When they all finished their desserts, they decided to move rooms, accompanying Jeno to the pet’s room to talk and have fun with the animals. 

Not too long after, everyone fell into their own little conversations, though it was more the separation between Mark and Donghyuck and the others than anything else. Chenle was gushing about Jisung, Jeno about Jaemin and Jaehyun and Taeyong about each other, happy to have other people who understood their feelings. 

Mark and Donghyuck stood a bit further away from where the other four sat, surrounded by dogs, cats, and even a few rabbits. They were watching them, a small smile on Mark’s face as he took in the scene in front of him. 

“I’m glad they get along so well,” he told Donghyuck, who agreed readily with a nod of his head. 

“Yeah, I never would’ve thought things would turn out like this when this all started. Honestly, I was scared this would all go awry and you’d turn out to be a total jerk or something.” Donghyuck huffed a laugh, eyes glinting as he looked at Mark. “Remember when you just couldn’t communicate properly and I thought you hated Jihyun for who she is? That sure was a wild ride.” 

Mark snorted, lightly punching Donghyuck in the arm. He was glad they could talk about thing like that comfortably and without any doubts about the other. 

Donghyuck wound an arm around Mark’s shoulders and pulled him closer, eyes trained on his friends again. He didn’t say anything after but he didn’t need to, Mark enjoying the younger boy’s warmth that he hadn’t felt for a while. The weight on his shoulders, caused by Donghyuck’s arm, calmed him down somewhat, allowed him to both bask in Donghyuck’s presence and be at ease as he watched his friends and family get along.

It was honestly still a feat for Mark's heart not to beat out of his chest, especially when Donghyuck's hair tickled the side of Mark's face and his fingers curled from where they were resting near Mark's collarbone. The soft touch, featherlight, had Mark glancing at Donghyuck but the younger was still looking at the others, a smile playing on his lips. Mark supposed he would be happy enough just seeing him every day and being able to be this close to him, even if there could never be more than this.

Chenle excused himself a little later with the reason of wanting to see his boyfriend. Taeyong laughed and ruffled his hair, telling him to be careful not to trip in his excitement. Chenle pouted but nodded, making his way out of the room, waving goodbye to Mark and Donghyuck. 

Mark’s eyes strayed from the remaining three to Donghyuck, who was looking after Chenle with a small smile. 

“Thank you,” Mark whispered, for some reason not wanting to raise his voice, “for helping me yesterday.” 

Donghyuck redirected his gaze, soft and warm as he responded, “Of course, Mark. Honestly, I’m glad you came to me for help all by yourself.” There was a small, maybe a bit pitying, smile on the younger’s face. “I can’t help you in many ways but at least my voice will help you sleep better. If I didn’t sing for you, my prince, then you’d be in a bit of a pinch, wouldn’t you? And what kind of friend would I be if I would let that happen?” 

Before Mark could answer, someone shouted from outside, “Donghyuck! Lee Donghyuck, get your ass over here!” 

Donghyuck looked at Mark apologetically, removing his arm from around him before he hurried out of the room. Mark pursed his lips and finally let himself plop down between Jeno and his brother, joining in on their conversation. 

“-is truly astonishing,” Jeno was saying as Taeyong and Jaehyun nodded along. Mark raised an eyebrow, asking, “What’s astonishing?” 

“The way Chenle just weasels himself into your heart and you don’t even notice it until it’s too late,” Jeno explained and Mark could only wholeheartedly agree, getting up again. 

“Speaking of Chenle, I think I’ll go visit him once more before my break ends. I haven’t talked to the little rascal in such a long time and I know where he is right now, so if you’ll excuse me.” 

Taeyong waved him off before focussing his attention back on the conversation again as Mark walked out of the room. 

¤¤¤ 

Mark was looking at the massive clock in the hallway, wondering how much more time he could spend with Chenle if he went to find him now, though all of his plans were erased from his mind when Jihyun walked up to him, looking a little unwell as she said, “I need to talk to you.” 

Raising his eyebrows and hands automatically coming up to hover just by Jihyun’s side, Mark completely disregarded that they were supposed to pretend like they were just newly found friends. He was worried and when he was worried, such trivial things didn’t matter so he asked, “Huh? What happened? Is everything alright, Hyun?” 

“I wouldn't necessarily say so,” Jihyun replied, glancing at Mark at the use of the nickname. Mark had barely called her that after he’d arrived, not wanting to rouse suspicion at the familiarity between the two. “Would you accompany to me a bit?” 

Mark nodded without hesitation, walking alongside Jihyun as she stepped past him and followed the hallways to the garden. 

They walked through it briskly like Jihyun wanted to get this over and done with, ending up at a big gardening house that Mark had never seen before. Jihyun opened the door and let Mark in before her, showing him a little further into the house, away from the entrance. 

Something rustled but before Mark could go and see if there was someone else there, Jihyun told him that this garden house was barely ever used anymore and there were a few holes that smaller animals could slip through. Mark nodded and instead decided to ask Jihyun about why they were here. 

“Okay, Ji, what did you want to talk about? No matter what it is, I'll do everything in my power to help.” 

Jihyun’s eyes were steady as she took a deep breath and took Mark’s hands in hers. She blinked slowly and smiled just as little bit, seemingly sad. Confused, Mark opened his mouth to ask her if she was alright but before he could say anything, Jihyun told him what he wanted to talk with him about, the words getting stuck in Mark’s throat. 

“Eunha and I are going to elope.” 


	19. Intricate Designs

“You're going to do what?”

Jihyun stood regal, gaze unwavering as she took in Mark's reaction. She knew eloping wasn't something to take lightly, especially not as a princess who was already supposed to marry someone of equal standing. But it wasn't like she had just decided this on a whim and by herself. Eunha and her had spent their last few nights thinking it through over and over again and had finally come to the decision to go through with it.

This arrangement that Jihyun and Mark found themselves in was neither beneficial nor desired by the two of them. Both of them wanted to be free, Mark of his overbearing duties, Jihyun of the suffocating general mindset.

She was sure if she explained everything to Mark patiently and clearly, he would at least not stop her.

“We're going to elope,” she repeated and squeezed Mark's hands. “Please dont't hold it against us but I just can't- can't live like this. Repressing who I really am just because Mother can't accept it. What kind of princess would I be to just be subdued, to just accept everything that is thrown at me when I know it won't do me any good?”

Mark furrowed his brows, gently prying his hands from Jihyun's to run them up her arms, finding their place on her shoulders. He tilted his head, thumbs rubbing over Jihyun's clothed skin as he softly said, “Jihyun, did you really think this through? Do you think both your and Eunha's parents are just going to accept you guys disappearing all of a sudden? You're right, you're a princess but especially because of that people wouldn't just forget about it in a few months. The least your parents are going to do is search for you.”

“Of course I thought it through,” Jihyun replied, frowning, “I never said we were just going to disappear without a word. We'd leave a letter at least, explaining it to some extent. I'm aware that, as a princess, I still have responsibilities but since I can't take them on, I should at least give an explanation.”

“Ji...” Mark's eyes were sad but not pitying. His hands on Jihyun's shoulders were as soft as ever, a result of Mark barely ever wielding any weapons, though, Jihyung supposed, his whole being could count as one. 

When they were younger, when they'd barely even known each other, even then Mark had been able to use himself, his mind, his body, in a way to open Jihyun's heart. That in and of itself wasn't something to be underestimated. Jihyun thought she wouldn't get overwhelmed by it again and open up completely but since Mark was still the same, she couldn't resist his quiet question of, “Could you at least tell me what your explanation would be?”

Stiffly, Jihyun nodded, taking Mark's hand off her shoulders. She couldn't bear the weight.

“We'll tell them half the truth. That I didn't agree to this and never will, that I can't keep on living like this. We'll say that I tried multiple times, that others tried as well and that Mother didn't listen and Father didn't do anything.” Jihyun scowled, looking down at the ground, the cracked concrete. “An unhappy princess, feeling like she isn't worth anything and that nobody will listen to her is worth as much as a gone princess. Eunha is coming with me because she's the one I trust, the one I've been with for years and who's been with me.”

Mark didn't try to touch Jihyun again like he normally would which Jihyun was very grateful for. The silence was unbearable as it was and she didn't need to break down crying in it.

“I'm listening to you.”

Jihyun's head snapped up. Mark's smile was tiny, nothing compared to his usual one, but it was still genuine. His eyes shone and his fingers were clasped in from of him and he titled his head.

“What?” Jihyun choked out and Mark repeated, calmly, “I'm listening to you.”

Swallowing loudly, Jihyun kept her eyes on Mark and didn't respond. She didn't trust her voice to come out steady and not to shatter her whole pretense of being calm.

“Look, Ji,” Mark started, face welcoming and soft, “I'm listening to you just fine, aren't I? And when I'm not listening Ten is and when Ten's not listening, I know several others who would gladly do so. You're scared, I get it, I was scared once too but not everything has to be decided by your parents. Don't you think, as a princess, if you assert yourself just a little, if you stand strong and tall, even if you're not for this wedding, you'll be a good example for other girls?”

Mark inched closer now, wrapping one arm around Jihyun's shoulders and using his other to guide Jihyun's head into his shoulders, his hand firm yet gentle on the back of her head. He continued, “I love you Jihyun and I know you love Eunha and she loves you back. But whatever you guys thought up, it won't work, not in the world we live in. I don't want to guilt trip you into anything, I'm just speaking the truth when I say you'd abandon everyone if you and Eunha- if you just up and left in the middle of the night. Can I ask you something?”

Jihyun nodded into Mark's shoulder, not daring to back away. She knew Mark was only doing his best and honestly wished her and Eunha happiness. She could trust him, could trust in his decisions and hope it wouldn't tear their friendship apart.

“Are you planning on eloping because you can't be with Eunha anymore if you're married to me?”

“Kind off... I guess so. I just want to hold her in my arms still, I want to keep being able to do what we're doing now and not to be expected to stick with you.”

“Then where's the problem?”

At that, Jihyun did lift her head but Mark only kept stroking her hair, leaning his cheek against hers with closed eyes.

“Here's the thing,” Mark continued, a small smile on his lips, “everyone in the castle and the town and probably in the whole kingdom, loves you, Jihyun. Do you think the servants don't know Eunha sleeps in your bed most nights? And even then, do you think they're just tolerating it because you're the princess?”

Jihyun opened her mouth but no sound made it past her lips so Mark answered his own question, “No, they don't. They genuinely support you, some of them were even sceptical and disapproving of me because I stand between you and Eunha. Your parents' opinion doesn't reflect everyone else. Even if we got married, there would probably still be a way to keep you two together and simultaneously keep up the image of a happily married couple.”

“I- I guess... You're kind of right.”

Mark snorted, finally letting Jiyhun go, instead looking her into her eyes, steadfast. He seemed like he had a lot more to say but was holding back for Jihyun's sake. Jihyun cleared her throat and looked Mark up and down.

“I still don't want to do it though. Just because you're right doesn't make everything go away. I want to be with Eunha but I also want everyone else to be happy. It's just- I was, and _am_ , so stressed and it all piled up until I couldn't bear it anymore. Eloping seemed the easiest, the safest option to getting away from this.” Jihyun sighed, raking a hand through her her before continuing, “My parents' acting and opinions overshadowed everything and everyone else, I just made sense.”

Mark shook his head and smiled, ruffling Jihyun's hair as he replied, “It's all right. As long as nothing bad happens and you talk to someone about it, somehow, it'll always work out. We'll just find a way to make things believable in fron of other royalty but other than that, there shouldn't be any problems.”

Jihyun grinned. Mark was right. Both Eunha and her had been kind of rash and opinionated in making the decision. They'd only seen the downsides to staying, to keeping on the path they were currently treading on but Mark was right. They had some kind of privacy and support here in the castle with the servants who basically knew everything anyways.

“Still, how exactly do you plan on pretending like we're totally married without me having an affair with a noble, and a woman at that? It's not exactly common for the wife not to service her husband,” Jihyun noted, making a face. Mark only shrugged and replied they would think about that later. 

Before either if them could say anything else, outside a familiar voice grumbled, rather loudly, “If I don't find that idiot of a prince soon, I'm going to fucking quit. I love him but this is _not_ what I signed up for.”

Mark giggled, throwing Jihyung a look. She's just smiled and waved dismissively.

“Go and keep Johnny from permanently residing here without having to look after you. I can't have Ten show up late every day.”

At that, Mark snorted and hugged Jiyhun briefly before making his way out of the gardening house. Still, even then he couldn't go quietly, exclaiming, “We're going to make it work, Jihyun, just remember, everyone loves you!”

Jihyun giggled and shook her head, watching Mark finally head away. She looked around before settling down on a nearby bench.

This hadn't gone remotely the way she had expected it to but Jihyun found that she didn't care as much as she thought she would. Mark's words were true after all, though she still wasn't sure how they were supposed to be going to make everything work. Even if the servants and every single citizen of the kingdom accepted Jihyun and Eunha as they were, Jihyun's parents were still the king and queen and there was no way her mother would just let them do as they pleased. Especially not after what she had said when Jihyun had first come out to her.

Jihyun sighed, burying her head in her hands. She didn't have enough time to think about this, considering their break was probably going to end soon. What she should be doing was composing herself and pretending like she wasn't screaming inside in front of the people her mother had hired.

“Hey, princess, why are you looking so down?” someone asked as they stepped in front of Jihyun. Lifting her head, Jihyun looked up at Jaemin's grinning face. The boy raked his hand through his hair before sitting down next to Jihyun and saying, “I haven't seen you for a while now. Are you too busy for me too? I'm hurt.”

Jihyun only snorted at Jaemin's pout and placed a hand on his bouncing leg. 

He was someone Jihyun had formed a bond with very easily as he'd always made her late night or early morning snacks, had she asked for it. Lately, she hadn't been coming to the kitchen as frequently, mostly because she's been busy but also because she had thought that, maybe, Jaemin had actually been bothered by her showing up at random times and asking for food. It wasn't his job to provide for Jihyun outside of his working hours but he had always complied and kept her company. They had grown close with easy banter and comments and Jiyhun had been happy.

“I would never be too busy for you, Jaemin, maybe I just wanted you to spend more time with Jeno.”

Jaemin gasped and threw his hands up in the air, acting as if he was extremely offended. Still, the blush on his cheeks have him away, causing Jihyun to smirk. The boy crossed his arms, pouting, “How come even you know? Are we really that obvious?”

Jihyun laughed, throwing an arm around Jaemin in the process, leaning into him. Jaemin was so cute, she couldn't resist teasing him, “Everyone has known since years ago, kid.”

“Don't call me kid, you're not that much older than I am. If anything, I should say everyone has known about you and Eunha since day one.”

“Mmh, are you really sure about that, though?”

“I feel like every answer is the wrong answer so I'd rather not say anything.”

The looked at each other for a second before breaking down into giggles, leaning closer together. It felt good to do this, to know that Jaemin had actually enjoyed her presence if the big smile on his face was any indication. Still, she didn't have a lot of time to have fun right now since she still had a lot of meetings to attend. So, with a heavy heart as she had to leave Jaemin so soon, she got up, dusting off her dress.

“Well, anyways, it was nice to talk again but, sadly, I _do_ have things to do. What about you? Shouldn't you be doing something as well, not just slacking off in a gardening house? Or I guess-” Jihyun glanced over to a cluster of plants- “I guess you weren't really slacking off _that much_.”

This time, the blush on Jaemin's face was so painfully obvious, Jihyun couldn't help but to ruffle his hair. She smiled, biding Jaemin her goodbye before turning around and trudging out of the gardening house, on the way to the next meeting.

¤¤¤

Physically holding back a groan, Jihyun watched as the seemingly neverending arguments continued. Particularly bad were the designers who just couldn't seem to agree on anything. Even though both her and Mark had told them which designs were their favourites, there were still adjustments to be made and there was no opinion as the other.

One liked it simple, one extravagant, another neither. There was just a cycle of disagreements.

Jihyun was getting tired of it. All of this arguing just took everyone's time away, instead of getting them anywhere. It wasn't like she immediately wanted to have a wedding dress, really she didn't have one at all, but listening to people argue over such insignificant things drained all of her Energy.

“Lords and Ladies,” Mark interrupted both Jihyun's thoughts and the designer's squabbling, “it's nice to know that all of you care so much about how the princess and I are going to be dressed but please consider our state of mind. We have several meetings to attend every day and we cannot give you our opinion as we aren't as well versed in fashion as you are. Still, I'm sure both of us would appreciate it if you could talk like civilized people and come to an agreement. I realize that it might be hard as your opinions differ so greatly but it is what has to be done.”

Upon that, everyone in the room fell silent, a few designers even avoiding Mark's unwavering gaze. Jihyun couldn't just let Mark be the only one to voice his concerns and so she got up and declared, “This meeting is done for today. I hope all of you think about what Prince Minhyung said and take it to heart. There isn't much time left until the wedding and I doubt you want both of us to go in our everyday clothing, let alone in our birthday suits.”

There were several gasps but everyone quickly nodded and got up, filing out of the room with hushed whispers.

Exhausted, Jihyun fell down into her seat again, rubbing her temples. Eunha, who was standing a little behind her, was exchanging quiet words with Ten, something about the time. Jihyun sighed as she remembered what had happened earlier in the gardening house. With all that had happened at the meetings, she had pushed it to the back of her mind.

She should tell Eunha about her conversation with Mark and that she decided to stay at least a little longer. After all, it wasn't only her who was involved in this but her girlfriend as well. Not to mention that Eunha had been the one to suggest Jihyun to tell Mark and she had been the one who-

Jihyun turned around in her seat and lowered her eyes at her girlfriend. Eunha wasn't dumb, in fact, she was probably the smartest person Jihyun knew. There was no way Mark would have excepted them eloping. And Eunha would have known that even if she hadn't known him as long as Jihyun had.

“How many more meetings do we have today?” Jihyun asked and Eunha and Ten ceased their conversation, Eunha turning to Jihyun with a smile as she answered, “None. The other meetings went by quite fast so everything was moved up a bit. The only thing you guys have to do now is eat dinner and go to sleep.”

“And by going to sleep, she actually means going to sleep,” Johnny grumbled at Mark. The prince gasped in offense before retorting, “What? I actually went to sleep yesterday.”

“Yeah, in the middle of the night. Not at a reasonable time.”

“Who cares about reasonable time, I went to sleep and that's that. It's way better than not going to sleep at all you ungrateful, pessimistic person.”

“Just ask Donghyuck for help earlier, do you really think he's going to reject you?”

As they semi-argued, Johnny and Mark made their way out of the room, completely forgetting that they weren't alone. It was pretty cute though, their relationship.

“Where are you going to eat dinner, Jihyun?” Ten asked when their voices faded, using Jihyun's name without any honorifics or anything if the sorts now that there was no one to talk about treason or report him to Jihyun's parents. Not that either Mark or Johnny would do that either but they'd barely met at any time no one wasn't around.

Jihyun shrugged and got up from her seat, stretching as she replied, “I'm not sure, just nowhere with my parents. Though-” Jihyun sighed, thinking back to her mother's disappointed face at lunch. She couldn't afford not to eat dinner with them. “I guess, I'll have to after all. How much more time do I have to prepare myself?”

“An hour.”

Jihyun nodded, trudging through the room. She didn't actually want to but she didn't have much of a choice in this matter if she didn't want her mother to catch wind of how much she actually opposed all of this. Mark had a bit of an excuse with his brother potentially not wanting to disturb a family meal but wanting to spend more time with his busy brother. Jihyun knew Taeyong, Jaehyun and Mark didn't eat together every time either but their situation was still different.

“I'll spend the time in my room, mentally preparing myself for dinner. Please don't disturb me.”

¤¤¤

The scraping of cutlery against plates was just as bad as Jihyun's mother scolding Jihyun for not getting even closer to Mark. It was so painfully awkward, sad, uncomfortable, it almost felt like it was physically weighing down on Jihyun.

Jihyun doubted that, at this point, even her parents liked the atmosphere at dinner. No one spoke and no one probably planned to.

The food on Jihyun's plate had been finished a while ago but her parents were still eating and Jihyun didn't want to ask to be excused, though maybe cutting through this thick silence would release a bit of the tension on everyone's shoulders.

Jihyun cleared her throat, both her mother and her father stopping their insistent scraping to look at her head on for what felt like the first time during dinner.

“May I be excused? I've had a long day and would like to go to bed early as I have the opportunity to today.”

Her father glanced at her mother and nodded, smile on his face as he said, “I'm glad everything is moving along smoothly, Jihyun, you've earned a good night's rest.”

Jihyun balled her fists under the table but forced a smile and got up. She'd thought her father opposed all of this but he hadn't expressed any discontent and at this point she doubted he actually ever would.

Ten followed Jihyun to her room silently, opening her door for her when they arrived. His eyes flicked over her face before he lowered his voice to mumble, “I'm going to search for Eunha. It shouldn't take too long.”

Jihyun nodded and managed a real, albeit small, smile this time before whispering, “If you want to, you can stay out a little longer. We can defend ourselves long enough if need be. Please check up on Mark.”

Ten grinned and winked before continuing down the hallway, in search of Eunha.

Jihyun got into her room and closed the door, rolling her neck to relieve a bit of stress. All of this was so utterly fucked she was surprised anyone involved actually still a semblance of sans. It had taken a toll on everyone and Jihyun wouldn't be surprised if it only got worse in the next few days. Groaning, she fell down on her bed, pressing her face into the sheets and muffling a scream.

Not too long after, Jihyun was sitting resting against the headrest now, a book in hand, the door to her room opened and Eunha stepped in, a soft smile on her face.

“How are you feeling, angel?” she asked as she came closer, climbing into the bed to caress Jihyun's cheek. Jihyun loved when she used that nickname though she didn't do it a lot. Especially not the last few days when they had barely had time to breathe. 

Closing her eyes, Jihyun leaned into the touch and lifted a hand to lay it over Eunha's. At times like these, Jihyun allowed herself to be vulnerable and let her true feelings show. Times when they could be themselves, when they knew there was no way they could be bothered.

“I'm fine, Eunha, just a little tired.”

Eunha hummed, sitting down next to Jiyhun, their legs pressing together under the layers and layers of dresses, Eunha's head landing on Jihyun's shoulder. Their fingers slotted together between them, hands held closely, a warm feeling spreading through Jihyun's chest.

Still, she hadn't just forgotten about her suspicions and she wouldn't let Eunha get away with it so, after a few more seconds of comfortable silence, she muttered, “I'm sure when we talked the last few nights, we had decided on eloping and I was sure you supported it so how come you sent me to tell Mark before actually departing?”

Jihyun couldn't get a clear view of her girlfriend's face as she couldn't turn her head but out of her peripheral vision she thought she saw a grin. That grin became even more obvious as Eunha spoke, making it's way into her words.

“I take it that he got the idea out of your head? Did he get you to see a little bit of reason?”

Jihyun scowled, leaning away a bit to really look at Eunha's face now. She really was grinning.

“If you were so against it then why did you disagree? I actually listen to you, there was no need to send me to Mark for him to set me back on the path a bit,” Jihyun pouted but Eunha only laughed, bright and cheerful, her whole face scrunching up. That, Jihyun loved too. Eunha's laugh was either everything or nothing and she looked so cute doing it, the more she laughed, the harder Jihyun fell.

“I had two reasons,” Eunha answered after she calmed down, a glint in her eyes as a smirk played on her lips. “First of all, it was a bit of a test for Mark. Because if he wouldn't be able to make you stay then wouldn't be worth it. But since he seemed to have convinced you, I'm most grateful and glad. Second of all, I don't actually disagree with you on the whole eloping thing. This situation could definitely better, it shouldn't have happened in the first place, but nonetheless we're not the only ones involved if we decide to run. There are so many people who care about you here but I'm aware if you really wanted to get away and if you didn't see anything here you wanted to keep, I would've followed you without another word.”

Eunha gently cupped Jihyun's face, the smirk gone and only raw emotion in Eunha's eyes as she continued, “You were a mess, Jihyun. I didn't want to hold you back, it wouldn't have been fair because I agree. I want to get away too. But both of us want to get away from the situation, not the place or the people. In getting Mark involved, someone who probably doesn't want to be in this situation as much as we don't, the chances of actually finding a solution that could work are better. Because I believe he wants to help and he wants not only you and me, but everyone else too, to be happy and satisfied. Mark was my safest bet, my love.”

Jihyun's eyes filled with tears at the endearment and Eunha softly tracing circles on her cheeks with her thumbs. She hadn't thought of it that way but Eunha was right. Talking to Mark, though it involved him in their personal problems, helped lift part of the weight of her shoulders. After all, he was a part of the bigger picture too and he wasn't Jihyun's best and first friend for nothing.

Jihyun wound her arms around Eunha's shoulders, burying her face into the crook of her girlfriend's neck. She let the tears fall, hiccuping and sniffling as Eunha's hands found their way into Jihyun's hair, soothingly stroking, assuring her she wasn't alone.

“It's okay,” Eunha whispered next to Jihyun's ear. “It's okay, Jihyun. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Jihyun wailed, eliciting a small chuckle from the other, the hand in her hair going from stroking to massaging gently.

After Jihyun stopped crying and made herself look somewhat presentable again, Eunha helped her undress. She peppered kisses along Jihyun's skin, leaning up from time to time to actually kiss her on the lips. They took their time in getting Jihyun dressed in sleep clothing again, getting distracted by each other in the confinement of Jihyun's room.

Eunha didn't stay to sleep with Jihyun in her bed that night but she stayed by her bedside, softly whispering stories and carding her hand through Jihyun's hair until the princess' eyes were too heavy and closed on their own. She pressed a kiss to Jihyun's temple and murmured a _sleep well, angel_ before silently crossing the room and slipping out into the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I got carried away with Eunha and Jihyun's relationship scene but it's good for you to understand their dynamics and everything better and they're like my fictional children so I don't feel particularly bad.  
> What I do feel bad about though (wow, what a segue) is the following, I won't be posting monthly anymore unless, by some miracle, I get to finish a chapter a month. The reason being me actually wanting to care for my mental health this yea and with stuff piling up from school and life in general, the additional stress of setting a deadline for chapters isn't really helping. There's an upside to this though, as the chapters will probably be higher quality.  
> Also, with how fast things are progressing per chapter, I might actually cut down the amount of chapters for this fic in general. I haven't checked yet but I'm pretty sure I can cut it down by at least two.  
> Sorry for ranting, I hope you're not too disappointed by my decision, I'll try to make up for it with more quality chapters


End file.
